Trust
by LadyRaider
Summary: (COMPLETE) He grabbed her, looked straight into her eyes, and yelled out, "Do you trust me" She nodded. "Then please," he begged, his eyes pleading along with him, "do what I said." SamJack!
1. Chapter One

**Trust**

**Chapter One**

**Disclaimer: They ain't mine.**

**Paring: Sam/Pete & Sam/Jack ship**

**Spoilers: Everything up until Reckoning and Threads. So basically that means Jacob and Pete are still here.  
**

**Summary: He grabbed her, looked straight into her eyes, and yelled out, "Do you trust me?" She nodded. "Then please," he begged, his eyes pleaded along with him, "do what I said."**

**XXXX**

The mission had started out normal enough, it was supposed to be a routine meet and greet, only the inhabitants of P2Q-317 had requested that the leader of (earth's) Stargate program accompany SG-1. They were to discuss a trade, information about the Stargate for a new source of energy, one that could do away with electricity all together. She had been excited, barely able to contain her enthusiasm, since she would be, of course, the one to experiment on this new form of technology. The General had jumped on the opportunity to go off world, even if the chances of him seeing action were slim to none, maybe even less than so.

Things went well for the first hour or so, then the proverbial other shoe dropped. The people of 317 were not as friendly as they appeared to be; an ambush began. Teal'c and Jack had seen it coming when every one of the Croinian council members excused themselves, whispering to each other. The General ordered SG-1 to retreat, or, as he had put it, "haul ass". They managed to slip out undetected, but the Croinian people must have been close behind because in only a few minutes they were running for their lives, the General screaming at Daniel to dial the 'gate as soon as they came up to it, as if Daniel hadn't already known to do so.

Then, things got worse, she was hit. The bullet, or whatever it was, tore past her skin and she went down, crying out in pain. He was immediately by her side, helping her back onto her feet. The council members, or whoever they really were, were starting to catch up. Throwing her arms around his neck he scooped her up and began to run, grunting with each step that he took. It was too late, they were being fired upon, and the shots were coming dangerously close. He let her down, taking a break that they both knew they didn't have time for.

"Come on," she screamed, pulling him and trying to run with just one leg.

"You go!" He yelled, "I'll watch your six."

She shook her head, "No, it's too dangerous." Looking over his shoulder she saw at least fifteen men carrying large, bulky guns getting closer and closer. She trembled, ashamed by the fear that was rising in her stomach. "Hurry, we don't have much time!"

He grabbed her, looked straight into her eyes, and yelled out, "Do you trust me?" She nodded. "Then please," he begged, his eyes pleaded along with him, "do what I said."

"I won't leave you," she defiantly said, shaking her head. "I won't!"

"You have to," he told her, his voice softer and more gentle than it had previously been. "I'll be fine..." he assured her. "Go."

"Jack..." she said, shaking her head, surprised at herself for calling him by his first name even under the circumstances. "Please, don't"

"I'll make it an order!" He yelled, "You have to go... _now_."

She choked back a sob, fighting the tears that had formed behind her eyes and were threatening to fall. Turning she did her best to run towards the 'gate, glancing behind her briefly to see him running in the other direction. She felt the ground shake and heard an explosion just as she jumped though the shimmering blue puddle. As she crashed into the ramp on the other side she cried out in pain, for the first time realizing just how serious the wound in her lower leg was, not to mention from the fact that she landed with her arm twisted behind her.

She was helped up by two people that she automatically knew were Daniel and Teal'c, they had gone through the 'gate before she had been shot. Pulling away from them she turned to see those in the control room, "He's on his way!" She yelled out; "Keep the iris open."

Davis nodded at her and then they all waited ... nothing happened.

Something else must have gone off on the planet because the event horizon faltered, then returned to normal. Moments later it rippled and Sam held her breath. A man stepped through, his weapon raised. Before he could get a shot out, however, he himself was shot, dead when he hit the metal ramp.

"Colonel?" Davis questioned over the intercom, "Do you want me to close the iris!"

"Leave it open!" She called out, "That's an order!"

They waited again, it seemed like an eternity for Sam, and her mind was buzzing with thousands of possibilities. He had to be close by, she shouldn't have left him, she should have made him come with her, he had to be close ... he had to be.

The Stargate, having nobody else to transport, shut itself down. Sam nearly collapsed, though her weakness had nothing to do with her damaged leg. "Dial 317," she ordered. "Do it now!"

"Sam," Daniel said from beside her, "I don't think that's the smartest thing to do."

"Indeed, Major Carter," Teal'c added, "It does not appear wise."

She glared at them, but ignored their comments all the same and turned around to look at Davis, "Well?" she asked. "Dial out."

He paused, "Colonel, do you think that's the best thing to do. You can barely stand," he pointed out, as if she had yet to notice the blood traveling down the back of her leg.

She turned to one of the SF's in the room. "Give me your shirt," she demanded.

He glanced around, then looked at her with confusion. "Ma'am?"

"That wasn't a request," she growled. "It was an order."

His jacket was off in less than two seconds and his shirt followed immediately thereafter. Sam took it, tied it above the wound on her left leg, then looked back at Davis. "Dial the 'gate ... now."

"Ma'am..."

"I am ordering you to dial 317, Davis!" She yelled, "If you do not dial that 'gate right this instant I'll have you court marshaled for defying a direct order!" Her voice was sharp and fierce; there was no way she was going to leave him behind.

"Yes, Ma'am!" He barked as he began to dial the 'gate, all the color having faded from his face.

It seemed like years before the 'gate whooshed forward. By then SG's 2, 3, and 5 had been called into the 'gate room, already dressed and ready to step through. They weren't going to stop looking until they had found Jack.

**XXXX**

Her leg grew heavier with each step she took and she began to curse herself for not having it checked out before coming back to 317, but she was on a mission and said nothing of the pain that everybody knew she was in. No, she kept moving, kept searching, she wouldn't stop. She wouldn't stop. She couldn't. She had to find him. She wouldn't stop until she knew that he was safe.

It had been over two hours, over two hours of excruciating pain, over two hours of having her heart ripped from her chest and stomped on, two hours of wondering if by leaving she caused his death, two hours of forcing herself not to cry. She hadn't been this determined or devastated since he had been lost on Edora. She hadn't liked the way that had turned out, even if she had found him. She swore to herself that it wouldn't take that long this time, she would find him today. She wouldn't rest until she knew that he was safe, she wouldn't even think about what she would do if he wasn't.

Another step, another stab of pain in her calf, another curse entering her mind. She wouldn't stop. She would keep going. She wouldn't stop. She couldn't. She had to find him. She wouldn't stop. She would find him, alive or ... she would find him alive. Any other way was unacceptable. She wouldn't stop until he was safe.

It was dark, which was probably the only thing that kept them safe and out of the Croinian people's view. Croin was a very hilly planet, with inclines and slopes as far as the eye could see. Not much of the land was flat, at least none around the area that SG-1 was searching.

As the hours passed her leg grew numb, which she knew was not a good sign, but she said nothing of it. She wouldn't quit looking though, no matter what happened she wouldn't quit searching. She would find him.

"Sam," Daniel called out to her, he was a good fifteen feet behind her. "Sam ... we're not going to find him in the pitch dark."

She stopped walking, but didn't turn to face him. "You can quit if you want to Daniel, but I owe him more than that." she growled, starting to walk again, Teal'c not far behind.

"I'm not suggesting that we quit, Sam." He called after her, running to catch up. "What I'm suggesting is that we make camp, sleep for a few hours, until it starts to get brighter. Then we can start to look again."

"What if he doesn't have that much time, Daniel?" She snapped, "What if ... what if he's dying right now?" Her head shook in defiance, "I won't stop looking. I won't."

Another step, then another, and yet another. She couldn't see through the inky blackness of night on Croin, but she wouldn't let that stop her. She was walking blind, they all were, but that wasn't going to keep them from finding him, they would all continue until one group had found him safe. No doubt they were still sending teams through. They would find him. They _would_ find him.

"Colonel Carter, there appears to be caverns in that direction," Teal'c pointed and her eyes followed. He was right, just off to the right there were caves, and when she strained her eyes she could see the makings of an opening. She pulled out her flashlight and started in the direction of the caverns.

It took longer than she expected to get to the caverns; she flicked on her light and shined it into the darkness. She couldn't see far into the darkness but it looked stable enough so she stepped inside. If he was anywhere this would be it; it was the safest place they had come across so far. When she turned a corner the light fell upon him, her heart stopped and her breath escaped her. Oh God, he couldn't be...

Daniel and Teal'c came up behind her, asking why she had stopped. When they saw him lying in a crumpled heap on the floor of the cave a hush fell over them, nobody moved, nobody spoke, she wasn't even sure if any of them breathed. After finally gaining the courage and will to limp over to him she kneeled down, setting her flashlight on the ground beside her. Taking a deep breath she trembled.

Reaching out a shaking hand she gently touched his shoulder and turned him to face her. "Sir?" She asked, fighting the tears that were forming behind her eyes, "Jack ... wake up."

His eyes slowly blinked open and she exhaled, having not even realized she had been holding her breath. He was alive. "Damn you, Jack," she whispered, running a hand over his short hair. "You scared the shit out of me."

He grunted and sat up, looking around the cave. "Where ... what?" He looked at Sam, "Huh?"

Oddly, she found her self laughing, "Come on, Sir. Everybody's looking for you." She started to get up, but her leg disagreed with her, she fell back, landing on her backside. Teal'c helped her up and she thanked him. "Guess I'm not as invincible as I thought, huh?" She joked, limping out of the cave, the other three following her.

"Major Demming," she said into her radio, "SG-1 has located General O'Neill. We're headed back to the 'gate."

"Copy that," the leader of SG-5 replied. "We're headed there now. Demming, out."

She shut off the flashlight just as they exited the cave and the world around her once again plunged into darkness. As she limped back to the Stargate she felt him fall into step with her, but she didn't acknowledge him. Instead, she looked up at the sky above Croin, there were two moons out and the stars cluttered the vast blackness. They walked, step by step, in silence.

Upon returning to the SGC they were both whisked to the infirmary. Sam was chided for walking on her leg, causing more damage than the bullet had.

"It only grazed my calf," she argued. "I'm fine."

Dr. Brightman didn't reply, but started to clean the wound. "You'll still need stitches and you'll have to stay off of it for a few weeks ... no off world missions."

She nodded, "I'm ok with that, there's a lot of stuff I can do in my office."

"Oh," Jack called from the other side of the infirmary, "no there's not. I'm giving you two weeks downtime."

"Sir, that's not necess-" She started, but he cut her off.

"Uh - uh ... that's final, Colonel."

"Yes, sir." She grumbled. Brightman started the stitches and she winced, tightening her grip on the pillow in her hands. "General," she managed through the pain, "what happened on 317?"

He must have been done with his check up because he was suddenly standing by her bed. "I set up a parameter of C4, nothing large, I didn't have much. Took about thirty of 'em out, it gave me enough time to escape." He shrugged, "I got lucky."

Dr. Brightman pulled the stitch through the gash in her leg and she bit down on her lip as hard as she could. Jack noticed her do so and offered his hand, "Here, squeeze."

She took it with a weak smile and when the doctor pulled on the stitches again the grip she had on his hand tightened, she squeezed with all that she had. Jack's eyes grew large but he didn't say anything and in a few minutes it was all over and the doctor left the room. Sam let go of his hand, "Thanks ... that helped." She laid her head against the pillow on the hospital bed, facing the right, where Jack had pulled up a chair. The doctor didn't place her in the most comfortable position; she was lying on her stomach, something that she never did.

"How are you?" She asked, "You didn't get hurt any, did you?"

He shook his head, "A few bangs and bruises, nothing major." A smile spread across his face, "I hear that you made an SF strip and threatened to court marshal Davis."

She laughed, "Pretty much ... yeah. It was just his shirt though ... and he still had his jacket."

"What about Davis?"

"Oh ... what you've heard is probably true, sir," she admitted. "I was pretty nasty, but I had a good excuse." Whatever pain killers the doc had given her were starting to kick in. "I was worried ... the more time I spent here the less time you had there. I didn't want to waste time that we didn't have ... and technically with you away I take over as CO, they had to listen to me." She sighed, "I should apologize to both of them."

"I'm sure that they understand," he said. When he noticed her eyelids getting heavy he decided to let her get some sleep, "I'll drop by some time soon. I'm taking back the power of bossing everybody around ... so get some sleep, that's an order."

"Sir, yes, sir!" She barked, doing her best to salute him while lying on her stomach. "I'll see you later, Sir."

"Right," he agreed. "Sweet dreams, Carter."

He walked away and she smiled to herself, allowing her eyes to finally close. "Goodnight, Jack." She whispered to the empty room, slipping into a drug-endued sleep.

**TBC**

**XXXX**

**A/N: So, what do you think? I was just getting ready for school one morning, it was about 6:30 and the summary line, the "do you trust me?" part popped into my head and it kind of built on from there during the day. I'm very happy with the end result ... even if I'm going to have Pete in this next chapter. Well ... please let me know if you liked it or not.**


	2. Chapter Two

**Trust**

**Chapter Two**

**Disclaimer: None of it belongs to me (except for the plot and the insignificant original characters that pop in from time to time... Like Demming- he's mine).**

**Spoilers: Basically, everything so far (But reckoning and Threads!). But, small spoilers in here for "Grace".  
**

**XXXX**

When she woke up the next morning she was alone, which surprised her. Normally, Daniel would be by her bedside, sometimes Teal'c or the general, but today there was no one. Maybe it was early, she mused. With no windows due to the odd location of the SGC there wasn't a way for her to decipher the time without a clock and there only located in the infirmary, right when walking in. She was in bed; the curtain drawn around her, unless she got out of the bed she could not see it. Her leg felt numb and she was sure that if she attempted to walk on it she would collapse. Testing that theory out was not high on her list of to-dos.

It took a few minutes for her eyes to adjust to the dark completely, but when she did so she noticed a shadow behind the drawn curtain. Too tall to be a woman, at least any woman on base, broad shoulders that were slumped slightly, whoever it was they were just standing there. She pushed herself up and laid her back against the pillow so that she was sitting, the figure swayed a bit but didn't move any further. After trying again to figure out the identity of the man (or foreign woman ... her bet was on man) she gave up, it was too dark to see anything other than an outline.

She attempted to swing her legs over the side of the bed but instead the exact spot where she had been shot fell onto the edge of the bed. Crying out in pain she pulled her leg back, a string of curses escaping her lips. That hadn't been the smartest thing to do, either, because as she pulled back her right leg her left slid off the bed, the rest of her body going with it. She landed on her side, crying out again. What kind of drugs had the doctor given her anyway?

The figure behind the curtain moved, pulling it back and stepping into the makeshift room, a bemused smile on his face. Cringing she grabbed on to the side of the bed and began to pull herself up, only to find that her arms were just as weak as her legs and fall back down, this time on her rear. Laughter came from only a few feet a way and she glared at him.

"General O'Neill?" She growled, "What are you doing here, sir?"

"It looks like I'm saving you from yourself," he said as he pulled her up off of the floor and helped her back into the bed. "You know," he continued after pulling a chair up beside her bed and sitting it in, "you're not wonder woman."

"Well ... you're not exactly Clark Kent, either," she grunted. "...Sir."

"Was that a joke?" he asked with a chuckle. "Wow ... she _does_have a sense of humor. After all that laughing at my jokes stuff I was starting to get worried."

"Was there something you came for, sir?" she asked, her head starting to pound along with the stabbing pain coming from her leg.

"Just came to see how you were doing," he said with a shrug. "I just got out of a debriefing with SG-3, I needed a friendly face to talk to. Jar heads," he mumbled.

She smiled, "You've got to admit, sir, they may be cocky but they're good at what they do."

"Exactly ... and what they do consists of being a pain in my ass." Sighing aloud he leaned forward and resting his head in his hands, rubbing his temples as he did so. "How are you doing?"

"My leg hurts like hell and now my ass isn't doing that peachy, either." She growled at the smile that spread across his face, "What time is it, anyway, sir?"

"It was 0524 when I came into the infirmary ... so like half after or so." He shrugged, "You should probably get some sleep."

"I'm fine, sir." She assured him. An uncomfortable silence fell upon the infirmary, but neither one of them had the courage to break it and say what they really wanted to. After a few minutes the silence became unbearable for Sam and she spoke out, "You scared the shit out of me yesterday, Sir. I hope you know that."

Jack looked down at his hands, suddenly captivated by the dirt under his fingernails. "There was nothing else I could do, Carter. I didn't want to scare you, I wanted to _save_ you." He glanced up at her briefly, their eyes connecting for a split-second, then looked back down at his hands. "I'm sorry."

"I thought that the Croinian's would kill you for sure, sir." She continued with her confession, "I was terrified, I thought that I would never see you again, I don't even know how many possibilities went through my mind. You would be dead, close to death, missing altogether, who knows what else. When we came back through the 'gate and they wanted me to wait before going back out there- It was my fault you were left behind in the first place, if I hadn't gotten shot ... I kind of lost control."

"Nobody blames you for the way you behaved, Sam. I certainly don't blame you for going, I ordered you to do so. It would have been ten times harder to find a hiding place with a bleeding colonel to worry about." He picked up her hand and held it in his own, not noticing when she shivered. "For what it's worth ... thank you."

A smile tugged on the corners of her mouth, though it went no further. "You're welcome sir, and it's worth a lot." Feeling the medicine that the doctor gave her the night before take effect all over again she allowed her eyes to shut sleepily, sighing in defeat. She still held on to his hand and had no intention of letting go as long as she was at least half-awake. As she slipped into oblivion she focused on his even breaths, the repetitive sound furthering her fall into sleep. Within minutes she was out cold, her hand finally loosening its grip on Jack's.

He watched her sleep for a few minutes before willing himself up, needing to get a few hours in as well. Glancing over his shoulder as he walked out of her "area" in the infirmary he smiled lightly at her sleeping form. They hadn't talked openly in years, not since the Zatarc testing where they had vowed to keep their confessions "in that room"- Something that he had regretted as soon as he said and continued to regret daily.

Maybe things were changing.

**XXXX**

Later that morning she was begging the doctors to let her get up and walk around, even if it was on crutches. But, all of the doctors and nurses demanded that she have at least two more days' bed rest. Even after that would been too soon for the normal person to walk after having stitches, but Sam would not even entertain the idea of staying in bed for more than 48 hours at a time. She wanted to get up for a few hours, at the very least.

Since he was technically the CO of everybody on the base he made the final decision. If she would stop complaining she would be allowed one hour of physical therapy, which probably wasn't the type of walking she had in mind.

"But, sir," she argued, "it wasn't even that bad of a wound! It barely even grazed my calf, the only thing that hurts is the stitches. I don't need physical therapy." A sigh escaped her lips, "I just want to be able to walk."

"And you will," he explained. "In physical therapy with Dr. Cunningham. After that hour he will determine if you are OK to walk, or if you need more therapy."

She scowled at him, "This is not necessary, sir. I walked on it for hours after it happened!"

"It might not be," he admitted. "But, then again, it _might_ be. I'm not willing to take any chances here, Carter. I want you walking just as soon as you want to be walking, but I'm not going to lose my best team for months because the leader was too stubborn to follow orders."

"Sir—"

"Ah! No ifs, ands, or buts, Carter." he ordered. "That's final."

With another scowl she sat back in bed, "Fine, sir. Have it your way."

"I always do," he said in a singsong tone. "That's why _I'm_ the General."

Rolling her eyes at him she sighed, "When do I get my hour, sir?"

He glanced at his watch; "Well ... it's just now after 1100 hours, how about at 1300 until 1400?"

"That's fine, sir." she grumbled.

"Good," he said in triumph. "I'll go talk with Cunningham."

**XXXX**

Hours later, after five minutes past 1400 hours, Dr. Cunningham announced to the General and her doctors that she was able to walk, with crutches. But, she was not allowed to walk around for more than an hour at a time. She would be required to take at least a fifteen minute break in-between. Sam wasn't particularly thrilled by the hour walking limit or the fact she had to use crutches for the next three days (at least) but it was better than being bed-ridden. Of course, the General had ordered her home, so it wasn't like she would be able to get any work done.

At half after 1600 Daniel helped her into his car and drove her home for the start of her three-day downtime. She didn't say more than three words to him on her own accord, not that it mattered since he was doing enough talking for the both of them.

"You know," he said, "everybody at the SGC is talking about what you did yesterday."

"Oh?" she asked, not even pretending to care. "What are they saying?"

He didn't catch on to her sarcasm, "That you've been spending too much time with Jack." he replied with a chuckle.

Sam didn't laugh, nor did she smile. She froze in her seat, what did they mean by 'spending too much time' with him? They couldn't think... No, that wasn't possible. She was with Pete- everybody knew that.

"Pretty soon," Daniel continued, "you're going to be making bad puns, too."

A sigh of relief escaped her lips, they just meant he was rubbing off on her... personality wise. "Do that already." she said with a half-smile.

Daniel nodded, "Not as often as he does though."

"Right," she agreed.

"So... has Pete gotten his transfer yet?" Daniel asked, changing the subject to something he assumed Sam would prefer to discuss.

He was wrong. Pete was actually the last person she wanted to think about, much less talk about. "No, not yet." she informed him. "He said it will probably take at least two months before there's an opening at the Colorado Springs PD, more than that, likely."

"That's too bad," Daniel told her. "When is he coming down?"

"Next weekend, if our schedules don't change." She didn't say anything else, and Daniel had no other questions to ask at that time, so until he pulled up beside the curb in front of her house they were silent. He got out first, walked around to the back of his CR-V and got her crutches out, then walked around to her side and handed them to her. She took them thankfully and used them to step onto the sidewalk.

When they got into her house she headed straight for the couch and sat down. Not that she would admit it to anybody, but walking- even just a little bit- wore her out. Daniel sat on the love-seat and there was a comfortable silence in the air for about thirty seconds before he had to go and open his big, fat mouth.

"Why don't you just tell him?" he asked her cryptically.

"Tell _who_, what?" she questioned, closing her eyes and stretching her legs across the sofa.

"Why don't you just tell Jack that you love him?" Daniel mused.

Her eyes snapped open and she looked over at him, "Because I would be _lying_."

"I'm not stupid, Sam... so don't insult my intelligence by expecting me to believe that line of bull about not having feelings for him. I know you do, you know you do, hell... even Hammond knows it. The only one who can't see the truth staring him in the face is Jack... and that's really unfortunate because if he could see it he would do something about it. Unlike you, who is willing to throw it away for second-best." He paused to allow her to defend herself, trying not to wince at the nasty look she was sending him.

"What do you expect me to do, Daniel? Walk right up to him and say 'General O'Neill, even though it's against the regulations I'm in love with you... so what are you going to do about it?'"

Daniel shook his head, "No," he informed her, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I expect you to _at least_ call him Jack."

Her eyes narrowed on him and she grabbed the nearest object, which turned out to be a pillow, and threw it at him. She was sick and tired of hearing people (real or imagined), tell her how to live. "This is my life, damn it! Stop telling me what I should and what I shouldn't do with it!"

He dunked out of the way, "I'm your friend, Sam. I'd like to think I'm one of your best friends, if not your best. I realize that up until a while ago that role was taken by Janet... but she's gone now. And I know that if she was still around she wouldn't sit by idly and watch you screw your life up because you're scared of the truth." She furrowed her brow at him and he continued, "Yeah, I said _scared_. Stop pretending like you're some kind of damn superhero with no emotions, you're not fooling anybody but yourself. I know you're scared, Sam... trust me, I understand. I was scared, too... and look where I ended up."

Sam shook her head, "I don't know what you're talking about, Daniel."

"Of course you don't," he said quietly. "I'm talking about Jan, Sam... I loved her and I didn't have the balls to tell her. Because I was scared- I was afraid that she didn't feel the same way so I kept my feelings to myself. Now she's gone and I'll never have a chance to know if she felt the same way or how my life could have turned out if I had told her." He got out of his seat and walked across the room, sitting next to her on the couch and snaking an arm around her shoulder. "I don't want you to end up the way that I did... you and Jack would be perfect together, if you only gave it a chance."

She looked away from him, "I can't, Daniel... you don't get it. If I tell him, everything changes. I don't want things to change, I'm happy with the way things are."

"Are you?" he asked. "Are you really happy? Or, are you just content?"

Well, that was vaugely familiar. But- if she remembered correctly, the last time somebody had thrown that argument in her face it was for the exact opposite reason... and technically, it had been her doing the arguing.

"I don't want to lose what he and I have."

"Which is what- _friendship_? God, Sam... when was the last time you two sat down and had an actual conversation? Not 'how's your paperwork?' or 'how's life off-world?'... a real conversation?"

"I don't know," she confessed.

"Look, Sam... I'm not trying to tell you how you should live your life. I'm just trying to be a good friend... I want you to be happy. If Pete makes you happy... well, then Pete makes you happy. But I don't think he does."

She didn't answer him.

"_Talk_ to him, Sam. You don't have to tell him how you feel or even anything close to it... just, have an actual discussion with him." He gave her a quick hug, "Trust me, it'll do you a lot of good."

She smiled weakly and he kissed her on the forehead before walking out the front door.

_Trust_, she scoffed- if it was only that simple.

**XXXX**

**A/N: So... what do you think? Sorry guys, I already had this chapter written before I started the story, so I couldn't cut Pete out. It won't take long before he's gone, I promise. I'm not a fan of Pete, although that stupid episode (Threads) did make me feel a bit bad for him. Well, the episode wasn't stupid, of course, but the guilt is! Don't worry though- I am a full on Jack/Sam shipper!  
**


	3. Chapter Three

**Trust**

**Chapter Three**

**Disclaimer: Nope, the show isn't mine and neither are the reoccurring characters. I make no cash profit off of this fiction, only reviews. **

**XXXX**

Fifteen minutes after Daniel left Sam's cell phone started ringing. She reached for the bag that she had set down beside the couch and pulled it out, answering on the third ring. "Carter," she greeted informally, not having looked at the caller ID to see who had called. There was no need, anyway, she'd figure it out when whoever it was started to talk.

"Hey, Sam." It was Pete. "Are you at home?"

"Yeah," she replied, stretching her hurt leg out on the couch, wincing at the stab of pain the motion caused. "Why?"

He didn't answer her question. "I've got a surprise for you."

"Oh yeah?" Sam questioned, "What is it?"

"Go look outside," he said simply.

Sam sighed, the last thing she felt like doing was getting off of the couch she was stretched out across, but... she was curious. With a painful grunt she moved her leg and reached for her crutches, but then decided against using them. The front door was only a few steps away, and what the general didn't know wouldn't hurt him. They were just a nuisance, anyway. She limped over to the front door, which was a bit harder than she had thought it would be, and pulled it open. There, sitting on her small, concrete porch, was a bouquet of red-roses. With a slight smile she looked around, but didn't see his SUV. Frowning, she bent over and picked up the roses. When she straightened up a pair of arms slid around her waist.

Her first instinct was to fight whoever it was holding her. However, he had already expected it, and felt her tense in his arms. "Calm down, Sam. It's only me."

Relaxing into the embrace she sighed once more. He was supposed to be in Denver working on some big case, what was he doing in Colorado Springs? Not that she wasn't happy to see him... it was a bit unexpected, but it was a welcomed surprise. Unless...

Had he been in the house during her and Daniel's discussion? She hadn't heard anybody moving around and her house had been exactly the same as it was when she left a few days prior... but it was possible that he had simply not touched anything. As far as she could tell, there was no implication that he had heard their conversation. He wasn't upset and if he _had_ heard them talking he would be. She turned around in his arms slowly, plastering a smile on her face. "How long have you been here?"

"Just got here a few minutes ago... I saw the light on and thought I'd surprise you." He took in her unruly appearance and the bandage on her leg, "Are you alright?"

She nodded reassuringly. "I've been hurt worse before. Nothing big."

"You should be sitting down," he said with a frown. "I shouldn't have made you get up."

"There was no way you could have known," she replied, giving him a brief kiss. "I'm fine. It's only a few stitches."

He didn't believe her much, but he knew from experience not to argue with her about her well being. "Well, how about you sit down and I find something for us to drink? I'm thirsty, what about you?"

"A soda sounds great," she told him with a smile, as she pulled out of his embrace. "Then you can tell me why you're not at work."

Pete smiled and with a nod took off for the kitchen, walking slowly to make sure she got to the couch with no problem. When he was certain that she'd be alright he picked up the pace, so she wouldn't catch on that he was worried, and grabbed two soda's from her fridge. Upon returning to the living room he handed her the soda and sat down next to her on the couch, giving her enough space to lay her leg out if she needed to. "We wrapped up the case late last night... I finished all my paperwork a couple of hours ago and got the first flight I could down here. Called a taxi when I got here, because I thought you'd be at work, and when I noticed that you were home I let myself in through the back."

"I didn't hear," she confessed, taking a sip of her drink.

"I'm a cop, Sam... stealth mode is just as easy for me as it is for you."

That was true enough. She had broken into her share of homes... even taught Jonas the technique. She briefly wondered how the man was doing before turning back to her fiancé. "How long can you stay?"

He shook his head with a frown, "Not long, I have to head out tomorrow around noon. I thought we could go out to dinner and a movie tonight, but I guess that's not an option. So... how about I make something and we order Pay-Per-View?"

She smiled, "That sounds great."

"Good," he replied. "It's almost six now, so I'll go start something and you look for a movie."

He headed into the conjoining kitchen and she started to flip through the TV Guide, looking for a good movie to rent. "Um... what about Pirates of the Carribean?"

"Nah... how about something based on the present?"

"Mystic River?"

"Seen it already... and I'm not in the mood for a murder-mystery, are you?"

She shook her head, "Not really..."

"What about Alien Vs. Predator?" he asked. "I heard it's pretty good."

"I get enough Sci-Fi at work." she said with a sigh. "Oh... what about Finding Neverland? I heard that was really good."

"A click flick?"

"It's not a chick flick, Pete. It's about the man who invented Peter Pan, that's something everybody can relate to. I know you watched Peter Pan when you were a boy." She turned to look at him and he shrugged.

"Yeah, I did... if we can't find anything better we'll watch that. But, let's keep looking just in case."

Fair enough for her. She flipped through the Guide for a few more minutes, "What about Spiderman 2?"

"Have you seen the first one?"

"...No..."

"Do you have the first one?"

"...No..."

"Keep looking."

"That's it," she told him, turning around once more. "Take your pick."

"Finding Neverland is fine with me, I guess... when is the next showing?"

"Forty-five minutes. Can you be done with dinner by then?"

He nodded, "Yeah, I'm just making hamburgers and baked beans. That alright?"

"Sounds good to me," she replied. "I've got some chips in the pantry, we can eat some of those. So... Finding Neverland then?"

"I guess."

She ordered the movie and then started to flip through the TV stations to find something to watch until then. Settling on a rerun of Law and Order she stretched her legs out on the couch and laid her head on the armrest. The exhaustion caused by the past few days and the strain on her leg eventually lulled her to a much needed sleep.

**XXXX**

"Sam..." a voice called, pulling her out of her rest. "Sam... wake up. Dinner is done."

Her eyes blinked open sleepily to reveal her fiancé, sitting by her on the couch. He smiled at her and ran a hand through her hair, "Do you want me to bring you into the bedroom? You can eat later..."

She shook her head, "I'm fine... what time is it?"

"Just after 6:20, the movie will be on in a few minutes." He kissed her briefly on the forehead, "Are you sure you don't want to sleep some more? I don't mind if you're tired, you know."

"It's alright," she assured him, "I'm hungry."

"Ok," he sighed, "I'll fix you a plate. What do you want on your burger?"

"Just a little bit of mayonnaise and some lettuce." she told him tiredly. "I think that there's some sweet tea still in the fridge."

"There is," he replied, "I'll get you some."

He went back into the kitchen and a few minutes later he came back, carrying two plates in his hand. Handing one to her and putting the other on the table he told her to go ahead and start the movie, all he needed was the drinks. While he went to get them she turned it to the correct channel and a few seconds later the movie began. Pete came out of the living room not long after that, handed her a glass, then sat down on the couch next to her. She picked up her plate and leaned against him, then turned her attention towards the movie.

**XXXX**

"So how did you get home?" Pete asked a few hours later, after the movie. "I noticed that your car wasn't on the curb, and I doubt very highly that one of the SGC doctors let you drive..."

Sam smiled, no doubt thinking of how Janet had bossed Pete around after the incident with Orisis. "Daniel brought me home... he left only a few minutes before you got here."

"Oh. How's he doing?"

"Good... he's good."

"What about the Jackl and Teal'c?" the man asked, dumb to her feelings for her commanding officer. "How are they?"

She hesitated for a moment, though not long enough to cause any worry in her fiancé. "They're fine, I guess..."

"What about you?" he asked, his voice turning serious. "Are you alright?"

"You already asked me that."

"I'm asking again."

"It's nothing major, Pete... I'll be back to normal in a couple of days."

"I wasn't talking about your leg, Sam..." he informed her, resting a hand on her thigh. "I mean, at work. You know, saving the world and all that superhero stuff? Chasing down bad guys wears the hell out of me, and I'm a cop. You go after uber-villains on a daily basis and I can only imagine how much harder that must be than tracking down mere humans." He reached out to cup her cheek in his hand, "You never talk to me about work, Sam... why is that?"

She shook her head, "I can't. It's classified."

"I have full clearance and I'm not exactly asking you to give me a full detailed description of your day. Something is bothering you, Sam... I can tell. So, why hold it in? I can help..." he sighed, "if you would just let me."

Sam didn't reply and she dropped her head slightly, adverting her eyes from his.

"I was thinking the other day, Sam... and something occurred to me. I hardly know a thing about your life before I met you– and what I do know I learned from Mark. I know that things were hard on you, with your mother gone and your father and brother constantly fighting with each other, but there has to be some good things from your childhood that you could let me in on." He lifted her chin and forced her to look him in the eyes. "I'm not asking you to tell me everything, Sam... and you shouldn't have to. But, why wouldn't you _want_ to?"

"It's not that I don't want to Pete..." she told him. "I've had bad experiences talking about my past. Bringing up old ghosts is only going to make the present worse and I like things the way they are. I want to tell you, I do... but I _can't_."

It was his turn to shake his head, "Yes you can–"

A knock at the door ended his sentence short and Sam glanced towards the entrance to the house. With a sigh she got off of the couch, a bit painfully, and limped towards the door, leaving Pete to watch her go, a scowl on his face at having been interrupted during such an important discussion. When she made her way to the door she looked out the peephole and sighed once more. Wasn't this perfect? She closed her eyes for a brief moment, cursing her bad luck and his bad timing, before she opened the door, wearing a faux smile.

"What are you doing here, sir?"

Jack pulled off his sunglasses, "Why aren't you using your crutches?"

She ignored his question and stepped aside to let him into the house, "Is there something I can help you with General?"

He came inside when she moved out of the way, looking around the house. When his eyes fell upon Pete he frowned momentarily, but it was quickly replaced with a look of indifference as he turned around to look at Sam. "I'm sorry, I thought he was working... I just wanted to come by and see how you were doing. I hope I didn't interrupt."

Oh, God no. He couldn't leave. If he left Pete would start their conversation again... that wasn't something she wanted to deal with at the moment. "It's alright, sir. We were just talking... Come on inside, would you like something to drink?"

Jack shook his head. The last thing he wanted was to be around the happy couple. God was he an idiot. _Maybe things were changing_. Bullshit. She was happy with her life, why would she care anything about him when she was already engaged? He was such an idiot. "It's ok, Carter. Really. I just wanted to see if you needed any help... Daniel said that you looked a bit worse for wear. I was worried that I had let you out too soon."

_Daniel_. Damn him. He had only sent Jack here to try and force them into the conversation he thought they should be having. Yeah, that was another thing she could deal without at this moment. "I'm fine, sir. Really."

"Yeah... why don't I buy that?"

"Because whenever you say it you're lying," she offered with a slight grin. "I'm not though. I've been hurt much worse... as you already know, and I'll be able to come back to work in a few days. You said so yourself."

Pete got off of the couch and stood next to Sam, "She's right... you should stay."

Sam and Jack both looked at him in surprise. Pete was asking him to stay? Why?

"Pete?" she questioned. Shouldn't he be the one who wanted him to go? They were having a fairly serious conversation before Jack had arrived anyway... Wouldn't that take priority over whatever it was her boss wanted, in his eyes?

He smiled lightly at Sam, before turning back and looking at Jack. "We have to talk..."

**XXXX**

**A/N: I know it's a bit shorter than the others... but there it is. Please review and let me know what you think. Cliffhangers suck and all, but I just had to leave it at that point, I couldn't get into what the conversation is without making the chapter really, really long! I figured you'd want the update sooner rather than later, so here it is...**

**Anyway, thanks to everybody who has reviewed! Keep it up :)**


	4. Chapter Four

**Trust**

**Chapter Four**

**Disclaimer: Nah, still not mine.**

**XXXX**

"'_We have to talk'_?" she questioned, throwing him a perplexed look. He nodded in response, and gestured over to the couch in a silent attempt to have her sit down, to which she adamantly shook her head. Oh, hell no, she was standing, especially if he wanted to her to be sitting. "_What_ do we have to talk about?" Which, probably wasn't the best question to be asking, giving what the two of them had been discussing before her CO stopped by... and she had a pretty good idea that whatever Pete thought they needed to talk about had something to do with that.

He started by sighing, "Why don't you tell me things, Sam?"

She nervously glanced over at the general, who was standing in the middle of the living room, a confused expression on his face. Did he really need to be here for this conversation? What did any of this have to do with him, anyway? "Pete, you know that I can't–"

"No," he stopped her, mid sentence. "No. There isn't any thing stopping you from telling me things about yourself, and your past... I could live without knowing about what happens to you at work, really, I could. But, Sam, you can't even tell me about your childhood. Why is that? Really? Why won't you tell me?"

"Pete, I– it's not easy for me..." she looked at him again, still wondering what he had to do with any of this. Turning back to her fiancé she shrugged her shoulders halfway, "I don't know..."

"You'd tell him," Pete claimed, nodding towards Jack, "if he asked."

Sam nearly choked at the implication, but forced herself to keep a straight face in front of both of them. "How can you say that? You don't know–"

"That's just the problem," he interjected, "I _don't_ know. Anything. Well, when it comes to you, that is. Why is that?"

Maybe there had been a reason he wanted her to sit down, her legs were starting to wobble a bit and Sam briefly wondered if they could see it. She searched her mind for the right words, finding the irony of the situation not amusing at all. In any other situation she would have plenty of words and many different variations with which to use them, but for some reason her brain had completely shut her out. "Pete..."

"Answer me this," he asked, stepping closer to her, "if we shared our lives together... how come we don't _share our lives_? You shouldn't have to tell me everything, Sam– but why wouldn't you want to?" He said that already. "_Unless_, there's somebody else you're waiting for. Somebody who isn't afraid to say that the past isn't the past, or somebody who isn't afraid to ask you about your past experiences..."

"You never asked," she replied, her eyes glued to the carpet.

"Yeah..." he said with a snort. "...I was too afraid to be honest with you and myself because, if I was truly honest, gut-wrenching honest, I'd have to admit..." he looked over at Jack and frowned, "that we're not right the way you to are. Are we?"

"Pete, no–"

He turned to look at her once more, "I can't be with you anymore, Sam... not when it's painfully clear to me that you're already in love with somebody else. I won't waste my life hoping that someday you'll forget about him and turn to me instead." He began backing away from her as he continued, "Who am I kidding anyway? A clean break is easier– you can set it, and it heals, and you move on. But if you leave things messy, or things don't get put right, it just hurts... forever."

She tried to walk after him, "Don't... Pete, please–"

"It's really time for me to move away from you," he said with a nod, "from all of this... I don't even know who you are anymore." His head cocked to one side and he sighed, "I don't think I ever did." He turned and headed for the door, grabbing his keys from the coffee table and his duffle bag from next to the door. When he had made it halfway out he turned around and looked at her, "Goodbye, Sam..." he turned to Jack and smiled sadly, "take care of her."

And then he was gone.

After a few seconds of standing there, staring at the door with a dumbstruck look on her face, she came to her sense. "Pete?" she called, running after him, just in time to see him walk around the corner, his cell phone to his ear, no doubt calling for a taxi. "Pete!"

He never once looked back. Sam leaned against the doorframe, upset and confused and thrown, all at the same time. What had just happened? How had it happened? How come she hadn't seen it coming? After a few minutes of standing there, staring in the direction he had walked out of her life, she turned and entered her house, solemnly shutting the door behind her, then resting her back against it as she closed her eyes with a sigh. What was she going to do?

Then she remembered that she wasn't alone in the house. Her eyes flew open instantly and found his, and she was confused by what she found in them. Confusion. He was confused and she was confused and neither of them knew what had happened or what was going on. "Sir, I..." she shook her head, still at a loss for words, and allowed herself to slid down the door and land on her backside, sitting on the floor. "He's _gone_?"

"Yeah, Carter..." he replied, speaking for the first time during the whole conversation. "He's gone."

She looked up at him, her head tilted slightly to one side, thinking something through. "Why didn't I chase after him...?" she mused. "Shouldn't I be more upset by this?"

"I don't know Carter," he confessed. "You're not?"

Upset? No... disappointed and a bit shocked at being broken up with, yeah. But, she wasn't feeling upset at all. Well, maybe she was upset with herself for stringing him along, or... for him figuring it out. "I'm so damn confused right know, sir. I don't know what to do..."

Well, scratch that. She did know what to do. Get off that damn floor, that was what. Her leg was screaming at her for being in such an awkward position. Sam slowly began to stand up, being careful not to put too much pressure on her hurt leg, and once again leaned against the door. "I never..." she sighed, "he never once indicated that he was going to leave..."

"They usually don't, Carter."

Sam looked down at her hand, her head cocked to the side, once again thinking things over in her mind. "I never wore my ring... you know? I wonder why I never wore it." The truth was, she had taken it off after the first week. Not only did it get in the way of her working on her experiments and made firing a weapon awkward and clumsy, but people were always staring at it, gawking or telling her how beautiful it was and how lucky she was. It was annoying and she found that life was easier when it was at home on her dresser in it's box. She had contemplated putting it on a chain and wearing it around her neck, but she never had. "I would you know?"

He looked at her, confused, "You would, what?"

She smiled faintly, as if she thought it was funny he even had to ask. "Tell you about my past... if you asked."

"Carter..." he warned, "don't go there."

"Yeah," she said, nodding. "Right..."

"I really should go..." he mused, breaking eye contact with her. "You probably have a lot to think about and you don't need me to distract you."

And he would have, too. She couldn't think about anything with him so close. "Yeah... I guess so." She moved away from the door, finding her way back into the living room and sinking down into her oversized chair.

"If you need anything," he offered, "just call."

She nodded, "I will..."

It was an empty promise, and they both knew it. But, he already had an idea to help and he was going to get started with it right away.

**XXXX**

An hour and a half later, Sam was still sitting on her oversized chair, when there was a knock at her door. She didn't move from her spot, rather called out to who ever it was, "Door's open!"

A moment later the sound of the door being pushed open filled the air and she tilted her head to look in the direction of the noise. Daniel walked through the doorway, took in her frown, and smiled lightly, "Expecting somebody else?"

She shook her head, actually, Daniel had been exactly who she was expecting, she had just been hoping she was wrong. "Come on in," she told him, although he was already walking towards her. His frown deepened at the sight of her; she was sitting on the chair, her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs. With her leg stitched up as it was the position had to be painful for her.

Which, it would have been, had she not drug herself off of the chair for three minutes nearly an hour prior and taken the pain-medication that the doctor had prescribed for her, "Sit down, Daniel... I've been waiting for you."

"Really?" he questioned, a bit surprised. Then again, wasn't he always the one who went to check on somebody when they weren't doing so well? Sam knew that just as well as he did. "How are you doing?" he questioned, sitting on the couch across from her.

"I'm fine, Daniel... confused, but fine."

"Then you're brooding because...?"

"I don't know," she confessed. "There's nothing better to do?"

There really wasn't. Her leg was hurt, so she couldn't go out anywhere, especially after she took those meds. She had already eaten dinner, and the last thing she wanted to do was watch a movie or TV. Perhaps, if she had been any less lazy she could have forced herself off of the chair for another minute and grabbed a book, those always made her feel better, but she hadn't wanted to get up, so she was bookless. Daniel seemed to understand this, "You want to go get something to eat? There's a Dairy Queen down the road... I could use some ice cream."

"It's March..." she informed him, "it's too cold for ice-cream."

"It's not that bad outside... it's almost April, you know?"

She looked over at him, a strange look in her eyes, "He broke up with me..."

"I've heard," Daniel said. "Has he called or anything?"

Sam shook her head, "No... I don't think he's going to. Not for awhile, at least. I won't, either... he was right."

"What did he say?"

"A bunch of things..." she sighed, "all of it made perfect sense. You know, I never really thought about the reason I never told him about my past. I guess I just didn't expect things between us to get to a point where we shared that kind of thing with each other..." she snorted, "imagine that."

"Do you want to talk about it?" he questioned, giving her a 'I'm here for you' look.

But she didn't want to talk about it, "No... I need to move on from this. He was right... a clean break is better, it's easier. If I dwell on it to much things will just be hard." She looked up at him, "Dairy Queen sounds fun... I haven't been in awhile."

He nodded, understanding that she was using the trip as a way to keep her mind off of the things that had happened. She could argue that she was alright until the cows came home, but truthfully, she was hurt by Pete's leaving. Perhaps she would have been better had she broken up with him, but then again, she might have never done that... "You know what... we could go to a movie, too– if you're up for it?"

"I don't know about a movie," she replied, pushing herself off of the chair. "But, I'm sure we can figure something out. You have to drive, though... I just took some medication an hour ago and it says you can't 'operate heavy machinery' while on it..."

Daniel smiled lightly, "Sure."

Sam smiled at him, thankful that he hadn't started up another 'Tell Jack how you feel' conversation. Then again, he was smarter than to do so at such a time. She had a feeling, though, that within a few days she would hear it all again. Maybe she would be a bit more receptive of it then than she was before. Strange, how all of this was taking place in the same day... almost fate like. If such a thing even existed.

"I guess it's a good thing he never got that transfer," she mused as she carefully climbed into his CR-V.

He nodded, not knowing how to reply to that particular statement. "How's your leg doing?"

Simple change of subject, there was no way he could screw that up. "It hurts like hell... but the medication really takes the edge off of it, and the massive head-ache."

"Did you hurt your head?" he questioned. This was the first he was hearing of a head-injury.

She nodded, "Oh yeah... when I came crashing down the ramp. My arm, too."

"Did you tell Brightman?"

"Are you kidding?" she asked, chuckling slightly. "I'm not stupid, Daniel– of course I didn't tell her. She would have kept me there all week."

So, Sam wasn't as good a patient as everybody though. Interesting. "Is it really bad?"

"Not bad enough to make me worried," she reassured him. "I'll be fine after a few days, Daniel, don't worry about me."

Something told him that she wasn't talking about just the headache and stitched up leg. "Yeah... ok," he looked over at her as he turned on the car. "So... what kind of ice-cream do you want?"

A smile spread across her face, "How much are you willing to spend?"

"I don't know," he said with a shrug. "We'll figure it out when we get there."

She nodded, "Sounds good to me."

As he took off down the road he glanced over at her, thankful that Pete breaking up with her wasn't having a worse effect on her. Then again, if he had been right earlier then she hadn't really had that strong of feelings for him, so why would it bother her that much? And, he was pretty sure that his earlier musings had been right on the money. Obviously, Pete agreed.

**XXXX**

**A/N: Well, I decided that I wouldn't make Pete a jerk, like I normally do :) I thought that him being civilized and realizing that she didn't really love him would be best. Anyway, I couldn't really have Jack and Sam be together right away, you know... there's the rank issue to get over first. It'll come though. I promise. **

**Anyway, let me know what you think!**

**Oh, and Happy Easter to those who celebrate the holiday! **


	5. Chapter Five

**Trust**

**Chapter Five**

**Disclaimer: The show and the characters are not mine. I make no cash profit from any of this.**

**XXXX**

They ended up eating inside of the DQ, Sam getting a hot fudge sundae (add extra whipped cream) and Daniel getting a Cookie Dough Blizzard. The two sat for a while, talking about obscure and off-the-wall things, to keep her mind off of the events of the day. Somewhere in their conversation Daniel had questioned about what she wanted to do with the rest of the evening, and she had informed him that a nice, long bubble bath was just the thing she needed.

"Is that an invitation?" he had joked, a cheeky grin on his face.

"...Well..." she replied, "you do kind of smell."

The grin dropped and he pretended to sniff under his arm, "Do I?"

Of course, Sam knew he was only joking, so she continued on with the banter, "Oh yeah... I wasn't going to say anything about it, you know– being polite and all that, but it's just too bad for me not to mention it. Sorry."

"Hmm," he sighed, pursing his lips together. "Well, since I got an invitation..."

Sam snorted and took the last bit of her sundae, "Not gonna happen, bud."

"But you invited me..."

She threw her hands up and shrugged, "Being polite only goes so far..."

He smiled and grabbed his empty paper cup, sliding out of the booth he had been sitting in, "I guess I'll have to go do it at my place, then... if it's _that_ bad."

Again, Sam knew he was only joking, but just in case she shrugged, "Nothing a bit of body spray can't help..." She didn't want to be alone just yet, and Daniel was about the best company she'd ever get. Best friends are usually that way, of course. "I think I can get over it."

Daniel, understanding that being alone was the last thing his friend needed at the moment, nodded, "Alright... if you say so."

They threw their trash away and headed back out to Daniel's CR-V, where Sam climbed in slowly, being careful not to put too much weight on her hurt leg. Daniel got into the drivers' side and turned the car on, pulling out of the parking lot and heading down the road towards her house, an expressionless look on his face. This confused Sam, but she didn't mention it to him. Instead, she studied him while they drove, trying to figure out what he had on his mind.

She was fairly certain what he had been thinking of when he pulled up by the curb, shutting off the engine and looking up at her house. A truck, large and black, was parked beside her mail box and there were lights on in the living room. "Daniel?" she questioned, looking over at him. "What did you do?"

"It wasn't me," he confessed, taking the keys out of the ignition._ "He_ planned it all."

"It _all_?" she questioned, throwing him a suspicious look. "What does that mean?"

"Just come inside," he asked, "alright?"

Well she really didn't have a choice, did she? This was her house, so she couldn't actually go anywhere else, even if she could. With her bum leg driving anywhere was out of the picture, and walking a long distance was something even she admitted was incredibly stupid. With a sigh she nodded, opening the door to the CR-V and stepping out on the curb, leaning heavily on her good leg. "Am I going to kill him for this?"

"Hopefully not," Daniel said. "Probably though."

That didn't encourage her in the slightest. The two of them walked across her yard and climbed the few steps that led to her front door, before she unlocked it and stepped inside to her warm house. There was a light on in the livingroom, although there was nobody in it, and another on in the kitchen. Sam's best guess (kind of an obvious one, but a guess, nonetheless) was that whoever was at her house was in the kitchen. Daniel set his keys down on the end-table, beside the couch, and followed her into her kitchen, wincing slightly at his friend's failure to think things through.

When they entered the kitchen they were greeted by the site of three people huddled around the table, talking to each other about something. Sam cleared her throat and they all turned to look at her, two looking a bit sheepish and the other looking... well, stoic, as always. Cassie, Teal'c, and Jack stood by the table, staring at her in surprise, then at Daniel with scowls. He was supposed to keep her occupied for awhile.

"...Hey Carter..."

"Sir," Sam acknowledged, "can I help you with something?"

Cassie was the one to answer, "No. We are here to help you."

"With...?"

The girl looked at her like she was an idiot, "Your breakup..."

Sam shook her head, "I'm ok about that Cassie. Really. I am."

"You're not upset in the slightest?" she questioned.

"I didn't expect him to break up with me, but I'm not going to become depressed over being single again. No. Not upset in the slightest. I am perfectly fine and one-hundred percent normal. Now... can I help you with something?"

"We brought cake, Colonel Carter," Teal'c informed her, stepping to the side of the table to reveal a chocolate iced cake. Sam grinned, not at all surprised by the choice of comfort food, and looked at her four friends, "Thank you."

"You are most welcome," Teal'c replied. "It was Cassandra Fraiser and O'Neill's thinking."

Yeah, well, that didn't surprise her, either. "I'm sure it was."

"So..." Jack questioned, "do you want some?"

She shook her head, "Not at the moment... I just had ice cream. Maybe later, though."

"That's fine," Daniel told her, speaking up for the first time in a few minutes, "we brought beer, too."

**XXXX**

Hours later, they were finally eating the cake that Jack had bought. Daniel, leaning towards the edge of inebriation, dropped his piece of cake on his shirt, making a glorified mess. Teal'c, who didn't like beer in the slightest, so therefore hadn't consumed alcohol and was only sober one among them, offered to help the man clean up. Cassie, knowing the full layout of Sam's house, after having lived there for months after her mother died before she went to college, went with him to find the man some kind of t-shirt to wear. Once again, Sam and Jack were alone in her living room, staring at each other, not knowing what the hell had just happened.

"Did they do that on purpose?" Sam asked, watching them run off down the all (well, Cassie and Daniel ran, Teal'c just walked) and slam the guest bedroom's door behind them.

"What?" Jack questioned. "Set us up? They would never do anything like that," the tone of his voice was strictly sarcastic and Sam had to crack a smile.

"You're right sir," she looked down at her cake, playing with the icing, not feeling the slightest bit hungry. "Thank you for all of this..."

"What? Bringing over twiddle dee and twiddle dum and letting them have alcohol?" He gave her a funny look, "You're welcome..."

Sam grinned, "We haven't had a team meeting in a while, and having Cassie here was almost like old times when Jan would bring her over, too." Her grin faded a bit at the memory of her fallen friend, "I missed it, you know?"

He nodded, of course he knew, he missed it too. "Yeah... it has been awhile."

Setting her plate down on the coffee table in front of her she looked up at her commanding officer, "I don't know where I am supposed to go from here." she confessed. "I was starting to think that maybe things were finally looking up for me, but I guess I was wrong. It's my fault, really... I shouldn't have even said yes. I knew that I didn't love him enough to marry him."

"Then why did you?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. I guess, maybe, I thought that I could forget with time..."

"Forget about what?" he questioned, setting his empty plate down as well.

"Some pretty strong feelings that I had for another man..."

"Carter," he warned, silently pleading for her not to go there. They couldn't have this conversation. Not now.

"If we don't talk about it now we never will," she told him, feeling a bubble of bravery rise in her throat, " and we'll die pretending that nothing could have ever happened."

"Having this conversation alone can get us court marshaled. You know that as well as I do."

"Yeah, well... so could the things we said when we were in _that _room." she reminded him. "That hasn't happened yet."

"That was different," he informed her, "we promised that we would never–"

"I won't tell if you won't," she assured him.

"Not here," he said, "not right now."

"Then when?"

He sighed, "Tomorrow..."

"Fine," she agreed. "Tomorrow."

Around that time, the guest room door opened and Daniel came down the wobbling down the hallway, followed by Teal'c and Cassie. "O'Neill," Teal'c announced as they entered the livingroom, "I believe that it is time for Daniel Jackson to retire."

"What?" the man questioned, "why? Am I not... trensleting... transdating... reading ancient things good anymore?"

"That's not what he meant you old goober," Cassie told him, "he said it's time for you to go home, because you are drunk."

"So are you," Daniel retorted.

"I had two beers."

"I had... four, five... seven."

"Time for bed, Danny." Jack said, standing up from his chair. "T... you think you can drive him home and stay there for the night?"

"Indeed I can."

"Good," he turned to Cassie, "what do you want to do, Cass?"

"I'm going to stay here tonight," the girl informed him. "Sam can bring me back to campus in the morning."

Jack nodded, "Alright..."

The three men left the house and Sam slumped down on her sofa, sighing heavily. "How did my life get so screwed up?" she asked of the girl.

"You fell in love, it tends to do that sometimes."

Sam snorted, not at all in the mood to argue about her feelings, "Yeah, well... it shouldn't."

Soon Cassie occupied the space next to Sam on the couch, "I'm sorry about Pete, Sam."

"You shouldn't be," the woman informed her. "I'm not."

"Are you sure about that?"

She nodded, "It was a little surprising, to say the least. I didn't think he was questioning our relationship... I should have known. I was being detached lately. I don't know, I guess it wounded my pride a bit. I've never really had a guy break up with me before... at least when it was serious. Then again, I haven't really had many serious relationships in my life." A sigh escaped her lips and she closed her eyes sleepily, "I thought that I could change for him..."

"You shouldn't have to change for anybody, Sam... no matter how much you want to not be alone."

"He thought I was waiting for Jack..."

"Aren't you?"

Sam looked over at Cassie in surprise, "I... don't know."

"Yes you do," the girl informed her. "You're just too afraid to admit it to yourself."

"...I almost lost him... The other day. We went through the 'gate and got ambushed. Daniel, Teal'c, and I got back to the SGC, but he was still on the planet. I made Walter dial back immediately. I was so afraid that I would never see him again..." She sighed, "I didn't want to leave, but he made me, and I didn't think he could make it on his own. I was so scared..."

"Is that how you hurt your leg?" Cassie questioned, motioning towards her leg stretched out across the coffee table. "When you were ambushed?"

"Yeah," Sam told her, looking down at it. "I was shot, it only grazed the skin, but it was bleeding pretty badly. That's why he made me leave... ordered me to. I had no choice. I didn't like it, but I didn't have a choice..."

"He didn't want you to be in danger," the girl mused.

"That's just it," Sam told her, "he can't think that way. That's exactly the reason that fraternizing isn't allowed. You can't put yourself or anybody else in danger because of another person. It's not safe."

"I don't think that he did it just because of his feelings for you, Sam... you know how Jack is. He would have done it for anybody– at least, those that he likes."

"This was different Cassie, you weren't there. You didn't see him."

"You're right, I wasn't there and I don't know what happened. But, I do know Jack and I know that he would do anything for somebody that he loves. That includes Daniel and Teal'c, too. But, you most of all... and maybe that's why they don't want anything to happen between close ranks, but you can't really control who people are going to fall in love with. You put people together like that, force them to get close and share such traumatic experiences with each other, and things are just going to happen. It's not anybody's fault in particular, but it can't be stopped." She gave Sam a small smile and placed her hand on her arm, "You shouldn't have to be alone because of some stupid rule. It doesn't even really matter any more, does it? The line has already been crossed and there's no going back. There are ways around it, there has to be, there is always a back door." She shrugged, "You just have to be willing to find it."

With that the girl stood up and headed back down the hallway, turning into the guest bedroom, leaving Sam alone in the living room to think. A lot of what Cassie said made sense to Sam, and although she wouldn't have admitted it to her, she had figured out what Sam had been mulling over for years. Sure, there was always a back door... but finding it wasn't that easy.

Even if you wanted to.

**XXXX**

**A/N: You guys can thank NASCAR for this chapter being out today. I live by the Bristol Motor Speedway and since the races were in town this weekend I got out of school early on Friday, due to heavy traffic. Well, it rained Saturday, so the races were postponed and carried into today, so we got out of school! I now love NASCAR, though I still do not understand how watching cars drive really fast in circles for hours is fun... oh well, it gets me out of school, so it's a good thing. Anyway, review please!  
**


	6. Chapter Six

**Trust **

**Chapter Six**

**Disclaimer: Not mine today, either.**

**XXXX**

Sam didn't sleep much that night. After Cassie had gone off to bed she stayed in the living room, staring off into space and thinking over the things the girl had told her, the things that Pete had told her, and the things that Daniel and told her; all of the commentary she had been given in the last few days. It didn't do her much good, however, and in the early hours of the morning she found herself sleeping painfully on the sofa, her neck already starting to show signs of a crick.

She ignored it and got off of the couch, intent on getting ready for the day ahead of her. After starting a very strong batch of coffee she took a long, hot shower and changed into comfort clothes. Since her leg was starting to hurt once more she took the pain pills Brightman had prescribed along with her coffee, in hopes that it would sooth the throbbing of her head along with the stabbing feeling from her leg. With a sleepy glance at the clock in the kitchen she wasn't surprised to find that it wasn't even 0600 hours yet. Deciding to make use of her insomniac tendencies she slowly made her way to her study to look over her notes on the newest developments with the Naquadah generator.

It was nearly two hours and three cups of coffee later before Cassie made an appearance. Sam was almost surprised to see the girl awake at only 0753, but she was hardly surprised by much lately. She had heard the door to the guest room open and the shuffle of footsteps down the hall long before the girl had peeked into the study to find her.

"You're already up," she stated, more towards herself than to Sam. "Since when?"

"Five something," Sam mumbled, flipping the page of her notes.

"Have you eaten yet?" Cassie questioned, although she already had a good idea what the answer would be. The coffee pot in the kitchen had been almost emptied, and she knew when Sam drank that much coffee it was to substitute for any form of food.

"Not yet," she replied, her eyes still glued on the papers in front of her.

With a sigh Cassie entered the room further, shutting the door behind her and sitting down in the open chair by Sam. "Don't you think that you should?"

"...Probably..."

At least she admitted it. That was a start. "Well... would you like me to make something?"

Sam broke away from her papers for a brief moment, only to write something down on another stack of bland white sheets. "I don't care. There's probably nothing fresh in the fridge..."

That didn't surprise Cassie much, Sam had been 'out of town' for the last few days, then with the leg injury the last place she could go was the grocery store. "Fine, I'll go to Burger King or something. What do you want?"

"It doesn't matter," she said, looking at Cassie for the first time during the whole conversation. "Whatever you're getting."

"Sam you can't do this to yourself," Cassie said cryptically, taking the notes from her hands.

"Do what?" Sam asked, confusion dancing in her eyes.

"Throw yourself into your work in hopes that you can forget about what's going on in your life," the girl told her. "It won't work, trust me. I've already tried it."

Sam almost questioned her about why she would need to forget about her life before she realized that Cassie hadn't even taken a day off of school when her mother had died. The girl had done the same thing to ignore the fact that her mother was gone, except instead of throwing herself into a Naquadah generator she threw herself into her school work. "That's not what I'm doing Cassie," she said, trying to convince herself more than her friend. "I just... there's nothing else for me to do right now. I can't go anywhere because of my leg and I feel like I'm useless if I just lie around the house doing all of nothing."

Cassie could believe that, but she knew it wasn't Sam's sole purpose for ignoring everything but the paperwork in front of her. "Read a book or something, Sam... even a Science Journal would be better than slaving over a stack of files for hours at a time. I'm going to go get us something to eat, alright? When I come back, I don't want to find you in this office reading the same thing over and over again."

"I wasn't..." she began, before stopping mid-sentence and sighing. "Ok. I won't be in here when you get back. I promise."

Well, it was something, she guessed. "Alright. I'll be back in ten minutes."

On that note Cassie gave Sam's arm a gentle squeeze and left the room, moments later she heard the front door open and close and the sound of a car starting. With a sigh she fixed her papers and set them down on her desk, then left the office and headed for the kitchen, where she washed the dishes from the coffee and started on a whole new batch for when Cassie came back with breakfast. Taking the young woman's advice she then sat down in her over-sized chair with a journal and began to read, not really paying attention to what the writer was talking about.

Not long after that Cassie came through the front door holding a Burger King bag and smiling briefly when she saw Sam sitting in the living room. "I got bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits and cinnamon rolls."

Sam nodded and set the journal down, then followed Cassie into the kitchen where she sat down at the table and Sam went off to get them some coffee. When she returned she handed the girl a cup and sat down, picking up the biscuit and unwrapping it. "I don't know what I'm going to do about tonight," she confessed with a sigh. "I didn't really think it through last night."

Cassie smiled lightly, "You're going to talk to him and the two of you are going to finally figure things out. Lord knows all of us have been waiting forever for it to happen, and to tell the truth, we're getting kind of annoyed."

"And this 'we' you're talking about, it consists of whom?"

"Let's see, Daniel, Teal'c, Mom– when she was alive, Hammond, anybody you work with, really. Except the ones who have a crush on your or Jack, I guess..." she shrugged. "Sam, ever since I met you two, I knew. Well, ok, maybe not the exact moment I met you, because I was a bit traumatized then. But it didn't take long after things became normal for me to see it, everybody knows that you two have feelings for each other, and no one can understand why you've not done anything about it."

"We can't," she said in her defense. "There are regulations–"

"Haven't we already talked about this?" Cassie questioned. "Back doors, remember."

Sam sighed, "Yeah, back doors..."

**XXXX**

By the time Cassie left it was nearing 2000 hours, and Sam still hadn't heard from Jack. She was beginning to wonder if he was even planning on coming over as he said he would, or if he was just going to stand her up and avoid the conversation. When the girl called at 2040 she had made up her mind, no more waiting on him to come over. If he was going to try and brush her off he had another thing coming to him.

She took her motorcycle, deciding that it would get her there sooner, and sped off down the street towards his house. It took her seven minutes to get there, and as she pulled up into his driveway he stepped out onto his porch, a confused expression on his face.

"I was just about to come over..." he told her when she walked up the steps to her porch. Holding up his keys to prove he was telling the truth he smiled briefly. "Do you want to come inside, then?"

Feeling a bit embarrassed, she fought back the flush that was trying to break through her milky skin, "Yeah..."

He opened the door to the house for her and followed her inside, "You want something to drink? Beer, water, coke... beer?"

Sam smiled lightly, "How about we make it a water? I have to drive back home..."

"Alright, water it is." he motioned towards the couch. "Have a seat, I'll be right back."

Taking his advice she sat down and waited for him to come back into the living room. When he sat down next to her he handed her a bottle of water and twisted off the cap of his beer, "...So..."

"Jack," she started, earning a surprised look from him. Yeah, she could call him by his first name, this was an important discussion. "The other day, on P2Q-317, why did you make me leave?"

"You were hit," he stated simply. "There was no way you would make it out without somebody watching your six."

"Why couldn't you come with me?" she questioned. "We could have made it."

"No Sam," he told her, "there was no way. If I hadn't distracted them, neither one of us would have made it off that planet. You know that just as well as I do."

"Then it had nothing to do with..." this time she didn't even try to hide the flush in her cheeks, "I'm such an idiot."

Jack sighed and pushed her chin up so that she was looking him in the eye, "It had everything to do with my feelings for you, Sam. You are my second-in-command, more than that, you're my _friend_. If it had been Danny I would have done the same thing. It's my job, as your commanding officer and as your friend, to do any and everything in my power to keep you safe. And while it might have had something to do with my _feelings _for you, they weren't the only reason behind my decision. Ok?"

"Then what is the problem here?" she questioned.

"The problem is that when they made the rules they didn't expect anything remotely close to what we have to go through each day. They expected their soldiers to be able to stay detached from each other. Yeah, we're all brothers, but brother's in arms is as far as it goes... and it's only for a short time. It's different with us– at the SGC. We're forced to work together in such close groups and we go through these near-death experiences that makes war on earth seem like child's play, and the outcome is inevitable. Now, I'm not saying every SG group is going to fall in love with each other, because I in no way have romantic feelings for T or Danny boy, but they're like brothers to me. Not just brother's in arms or anything like that, they're my blood. I'd do anything for them, and I know that they would do anything for me. All of us are like that, SG-3, SG-12, every single one. What they don't know is that there's no room for romantics to impair our judgement, because we would already do anything for each other, you put people that close to each other, and you don't need to be in love to do whatever it takes to save their lives."

"There has to be some way..." she mused, frowning. "Some kind of... back door that we could use. A loop hole that we could take. They can't just tell us that we can't have feelings for somebody. You can't stop that kind of thing. I know I didn't plan on falling in–" she grew quiet and adverted her eyes. "There has to be some way."

"There aren't many options."

She looked up at him and a strange look passed through her eyes, "What is this between us? Truthfully..."

He licked his dry lips and sighed, "Sam– I would like nothing more than to be able to tell you... but I can't."

"You can't, or you won't? Stop hiding from me Jack. I know you better than to think you're afraid of breaking the rules."

"We get into this now, what happens if there isn't a back door? We're just going to hurt ourselves."

"Then we figure this out, right here, right now. We find the back door tonight."

Jack looked at her, defeated, "That easy?"

Sam shook her head, "When did I say that it would be easy? It's going to be one of the toughest things either one of us has ever done, because there's a good possibility that the back door only opens if one of us gives up our ranks."

"I won't ask you to give up your job, Sam. It means to much to you and you've got the possibility of going much farther than I do. I have an insubordinate streak, it's a wonder I've even gotten to Brigadier General."

She reached out and touched his arm, knowing that even that small amount of contact was dangerous, "Even if I made it all the way to General, I would still be alone. And that's not worth anything if I don't have somebody to share it with."

"There are so many better people out there that can make you happy, you don't need to waste your life on me."

"Newsflash, Jack, I've already tried the getting over you thing. It didn't work." She moved her hand from his arm and sighed, "I'm never going to find anybody better than you are. Nobody will ever compare to you, and I don't even know why I tried. I'm tired of pretending, Jack. It's not working anymore."

"I don't know what to do, Samantha."

Shivering at the sound of her full name coming from his mouth she shook her head, "We've got all night to figure it out."

"And what happens in the morning?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "But, we'll find out soon enough."

**XXXX**

Once again, she found herself curled up uncomfortably on a couch, early in the morning. Only this time, it wasn't her couch and she wasn't alone. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light coming through the living room window they darted from the ceiling to the man lying next to her, sleeping just as painfully as she had been. When had they fallen asleep? She could remember still being awake at 0300 hours, but after that she wasn't sure.

For the many hours of talking they hadn't gotten very far. The best they could figure was that the only other way, besides one of them giving up their job, was to go directly to the president. Neither one of them was very confident about having to do so, but it was the only way, and both knew it. They had decided that they would go together and see him, since he still had that invitation, and they had saved the world more times than either one of them could count. After all of that, wouldn't he be obligated to do them just that one, small favor? They deserved it, didn't they?

She slid off of the couch, ignoring the stab of pain she felt as her stitches were tugged at. The feeling reminded her that she was scheduled to be at the SGC later on that day to have them removed and she sighed, the last thing she wanted was to be in the infirmary, even if it was only for an hour or so.

After wondering briefly if she should wake him up she decided against it. It was still early, and even though he would need to wake up to go to work soon, he still had at least fifteen minutes. Instead, she ventured into the kitchen and searched for the coffee that Daniel had bought him. The man had absolutely no taste when it came to java and Daniel had finally gotten fed up of drinking bad coffee when he was over his place, so he had supplied his favorite brand. She put the pot on and left the kitchen, headed for the bathroom to wash her face and wake up a little bit.

When she emerged from the guest bath he was sitting up on the couch, looking around confused. "Morning," she greeted, "coffee's on."

"What time did we fall asleep?"

She shrugged and sat down on the couch, "Sometime after three, I guess."

"What time is it now?"

Glancing over at the clock on the wall she sighed, "0533."

"Coffee's on, you say?"

"Yeah," she smiled briefly. "So... we're really going to do this?"

"I can't think of any other way." he shrugged. "You sure I'm good enough for you? Because, I'm still not sure..."

She blushed slightly, "You're perfect for me, Jack. Nothing is ever going to change that."

"I haven't exactly been Mr. Perfect, you know?"

"Yeah, and I'm not little miss princess, either. I know that you've had to do some pretty horrible things, so have I. If that makes you a bad person, then I'm right there with you."

"If you're sure," he smiled lightly. "I'll see if I can set up an impromptu meeting today. He's a very busy man, though-- it might take awhile before we can see him."

"I can wait," she assured him. "Trust me."

He smiled and reached out to brush his fingers along her cheek, "Always."

** XXXX**

** A/N: Sorry it's so cheesy! I couldn't think of another way to end the chapter. Anyway, let me know what you think. Hopefully the next one will be out sooner.  
**


	7. Chapter Seven

**Trust**

**Chapter Seven**

**Disclaimer: Nope, none of it is mine. Sigh...**

**  
Spoilers: Slight spoilers for Lockdown**

**XXXX**

O'Neill paced the length of his office, holding the bight, red phone up to his ear, and waiting impatiently. Had he been on the phone calling anybody else he would have long since hung up and tried again, but that bright, red phone was there to connect him with one person and one person only. The President. And you just didn't hang up while waiting for the President to come on the line. That had to be a sure-fire way to lose your job.

Speaking of, Jack was, to his own admittance, incredibly nervous. He wasn't sure of how high he was on the POTUS' list of favorite people-- or if he even wanted to be on such a list. Hammond seemed to have a great deal of respect for the man, so O'Neill was forced to believe he wasn't _so_ bad, even if he was a democrat. Also, anybody who had the balls to admit he was incredibly stupid and fire his 2IC was alright with him. Especially when that second-in-command was Robert Kensey.

Then again, he had only met Hayes twice, and their phone calls were hardly about the weather. In fact, on one occasion, he had disregarded an order from the man, and even though in doing so it had gotten Anubis off of the planet, it was still defying a direct a direct order from his boss, the Commander in Chief. Jack was lucky he hadn't saw fit to throw him in jail. So, maybe the man did like him... and this might not be so hard.

He snorted softly at the thought. The hell it wasn't going to be hard-- he was about to demand an impromptu meeting with the _president_, and he couldn't exactly come right out and say why. Well... he could, but he wasn't going to. Continuing his pacing he grew even more impatient, sure, he was waiting to be put in touch with the most important man in the country, but he, himself, was fairly high on that list, and had been currently waiting fifteen minutes. Maybe he should have said it was an emergency, after all...

Just when he was about to cut his losses and try to tell the woman, presumably his secretary, that he would try back later, she came back onto the line, anyway. "General O'Neill, the president is currently in a cabinet meeting, that while most likely last all of the morning. I'm going to have to have him call you back, if that's alright with you. There's no emergency, is there?"

Nope. It's just my life I'm trying to sort through. "No ma'am, no emergencies. Can I ask why it took fifteen minutes to get this information to me?" Yeah, so maybe he was being a bit rude... but he was trying to be polite about it. That had to count for something. Right?

"I'm sorry sir, it wasn't a scheduled meeting-- he was just called into it a moment ago."

"Oh," he replied. "Well... am I allowed to know where he was before that?"

The woman didn't seem to be annoyed, but he was sure she probably was. "Eating breakfast with his wife and daughters, sir."

Jack sighed and looked at his watch, it was nearing 0700 there, so it had to be 1000 something in DC. Then again, if he was related to the president, he would probably sleep in as well. "Thank you, ma'am."

"You're welcome, General." she said, her voice sounding a bit more relieved. Probably because she knew the call was nearly over. "Where would you like him to return the call to?"

Well, Jack couldn't exactly have him call the base, and have an SF answer. He could give his cell, but there was an easier option. "Just have him call back on this number." This was the president they were dealing with, he had to have Caller ID. "Goodbye, ma'am."

She said her goodbyes and Jack hung the phone up, sighing. That had gone nothing like he had planned it would, but then again, he hadn't really planned anything in the first place. Calling at that time had been on a the spur of the moment and with the three hour time difference between the east and west coast, he hadn't had to worry about calling too early. Now, to his disappointment, he was wondering if he had called to late.

Sitting down at his desk he sighed again, looking over at the stack of paperwork that had poured into his 'in' box over night. He might as well get some work done while he waited...

**XXXX**

Sam sat down at the commissary table, alert, awake, and ready to start her day. Having already downed a few cups of coffee at Jack's house (yeah, it was so easy to call him that in her head) she was energetic and showed no signs of the measly two hours or so of sleep she had acquired. Luckily, the coffee had done it's job, and the man who sat across from her didn't notice, and therefore didn't question her on the events of the previous night. Although, she was waiting on a phone call from a certain somebody.

"Good morning Sam," he greeted, taking a long drink from his steaming mug. Where she looked like she had slept for hours, her friend looked completely haggard and she knew immediately that he had worked through the night, again. "You're here early."

She glanced at her watch, wondering what time it actually was. Almost 0700... yeah, it was kind of early. "I really didn't have any reason to stay at home and I woke up early." Ok, so that was a schooled version of the truth. She really didn't have a reason to stay at home because she _wasn't_ at home, and she didn't just wake up early, she went to bed late, and the reason she had been awaken was her commanding officer had been snoring in his sleep. "What about you? Isn't it a bit early for you to be here, as well?"

He shook his head, "I never left." Ah, so she had been right. "SG-5 came in contact with an ancient Mesopotamian culture and we've been working non-stop to try and learn about them." We've meaning him and him alone. "I guess I got a bit carried away and forgot to sleep..."

Well, it wasn't like it never happened before. "Can you communicate with them yet?"

"Yeah, uh... it's very limited, however." he paused momentarily to take another drink of coffee. "I went there sometime earlier and tried to distinguish the difference in their culture and the one from earth, but I didn't get very far. From what I can tell though, they're most likely from the Assyrian culture. They have a strong army and all sorts of records held in a library type structure, much like the Assyrian. Although, they are not as inhumane as the Assyrian were. I think that they were taken from earth sometime around 900 BC."

Sam tried to pay attention, really... she did. But, she didn't know what the heck the archaeologist was talking about, and she certainly had never heard of the Assyrian's before. Now, if he had said Babylonians things would have been a bit more interesting for her. But, yeah, she had no clue what he had just suggested. "Oh... ok."

"You don't know what the hell I'm talking about, do you?"

"Not a clue." she said with a small smile. "But, that's not a surprise."

He nodded, "Well... I should really get back to my work."

Waving her hands in a gesture for him to go ahead, she smiled sweetly. "You can give me a history lesson later, I promise. Go and figure everything out first."

"I'll hold you to that," he told her as he grabbed his coffee cup and walked out of the commissary, leaving her alone at the table. She sighed and took a bite of her eggs, enjoying the sudden silence in the room. That enjoyment was short-lived, however, because before she knew it her cell phone rang. A knowing smile spread across her face and she set down her fork, digging the phone out of her pocket.

"Cassie..." she greeted, after answering on the third ring. "What can I do for you?"

**XXXX**

"Well," the girl replied, sounding a bit enthusiastic. "For starters you can tell me why the hell you didn't call me last night and fill me in on what happened at Jack's house."

Sam nearly laughed out loud, catching herself when she saw that she wasn't the only person in the commissary. There were a few members of SG-3 and SG-5 in the corner, and the last thing she wanted was to have this discussion around the Marines. They gossiped almost as badly as women did. "Hold on a second, ok? I'm on my way to my office."

She threw her tray away and headed out of the room, towards the elevators. Pressing the button for sub-level 21, which held her less-frequently used lab, the other being on sub-level 19. If anybody was looking for her, they would go there first. "I didn't call you, Cassie," she said once she got into the elevator, where there was only security cameras, with no mikes, "because I didn't go home." Cryptic. She could have been anywhere instead of home, right? She wasn't at her CO's house, sleeping with him on his couch. No... she would _never_.

"What do you mean, you didn't go home?"

"I meant exactly what I said. I didn't go back home."

Finally out of the elevator she walked briskly towards her office, the less ears around, the better.

"Well, why on earth would you stay there?" she questioned. There was a brief pause, then, "No... wait. Don't tell me."

This time she did laugh out loud, "We talked, Cassie. Nothing more than that."

"Oh," she sounded relieved. "What on earth did you talk about, then?"

"Things..."

"What kind of things?"

"Relationship things."

"And?"

"We're going to talk to the president."

"No way," Cassie was stunned. "You're not kidding me, are you?"

"Absolutely not. In fact, he's probably on the phone with him right now..." she sat down in her computer chair and twirled around once, twice, and then a third time. "We're hoping to get a meeting as soon as possible, but it might not be for another week or so."

"Did he kiss you?" Cassie wanted to know, her hopeless romantic side showing itself in full force.

"No," Sam said with a chuckle. "He can't. That's exactly what_ fraternizing_ means."

"Oh," this time she was disappointed. "Yeah, I guess you're right." There was a slight pause and then the girl continued, "Not even a peck on the cheek?"

"No Cassie. Nothing."

"That doesn't seem fair."

"That's because it's not." Sam informed her. "But, until we talk to Hayes, there's nothing either one of us can do about it. The rules are the rules."

"Yeah, but Jack breaks the rules all the time... and don't think I haven't heard the stories about you're insubordinate streak, because I have. Often. So, if other rules can be broken, why not this one? It seems the least harmful." The argument was a good one, but there was one major flaw.

"The other times it was necessary to save the planet or another race, things like that. And we broke the rules knowing there was no way to be charged for breaking them, not many courts have a policy for defy a direct order and taking off through a Stargate to save the planet from a Goa'uld attack, after all. Fraternizing is a lot easier to prosecute. If anybody found out, our classified work wouldn't be a factor and we could be taken before a military judge for our actions. And well, what's the point of being together for a little while if we're only going to get thrown in jail and not see each other for years?"

"Could you really get that hard of a sentence for fraternizing?"

"Well... I'm not sure. Maybe. But, they would strip us both of our titles and kick us out of the military. And neither one of us can afford to do that. I'm needed at the SGC and so is he." Sam sighed heavily and twirled in her chair once more, "It's not any fun, but we have to obey the rules this time."

"But he's the Commanding Officer of the SGC... didn't he take the job so he could do whatever he wanted."

"As long as it is within the limits, yes. But, if he and I were together he'd be crossing the line, and he, of all people, can't do that. He's already been under too much scrutiny in his years at the SGC, I won't put him through more. And, on the other side of the fence, he's not going to muddy up my nearly spotless career."

"Nearly?"

"You said it yourself, I have an insubordinate streak at times..."

That was certainly true, she had gotten it from Jack, but hers was a much more discrete insubordination, whereas he just laid it on whomever he wanted to. It was part of his charm, Cassie guessed. "Well, I guess I should let you get to work..."

"I'll call you later," Sam promised. "Alright?"

"Yeah, I have a class until 5, but anytime after that is good." Cassie paused for a second, "Bye, Sam... good luck."

Smiling briefly Sam said a goodbye and set down her phone with a sigh, wondering how far Jack had gotten with the president.

**XXXX**

Hours later, he was beginning to drool on his paperwork, when the ringing of a phone took him away from a _very nice_ dream. He cursed and sat up in his chair, rubbing his face to wake up further, and then reaching out to grab the ringing, red phone.

"General O'Neill." he greeted, wondering if it was the president, finally returning his call.

"O'Neill," the voice at the other end replied. Yup, it was the POTUS, and thankfully, he didn't sound as annoyed as his secretary had. "You needed to talk to me?"


	8. Chapter Eight

**Trust**

**Chapter Eight**

**Disclaimer: Not my show, not my characters. **

**  
XXXX**

The president paused for a second, before speaking once again, "Did I call at a bad time, O'Neill? You sound tired." Or in other words, like he had just woken up from an afternoon nap.

Or a _very good_ dream. Jack scowled, but nodded all the same, "I didn't get too much sleep last night, Sir. But, I'm fine."

"What was it you wanted to talk about then?" he questioned. "It can't be anything too horrible, otherwise you would have had my secretary pull me out of my meeting-- which you didn't do."

"Actually, Sir, it's something that I would rather discuss in person." he said, wincing in anticipation. The president was going to laugh at him, he just knew it. Yep... any second now... laughter.

"I could arrange a flight for you, O'Neill, if it's really that important."

For a moment, Jack was taken aback. No laughter? Hmm. This could be a good thing. No, this _had_ to be a good thing. "Really?" he asked, a bit astonished. "I mean... you're not drowning in work to be done?" He knew he was, and he was only a brigadier general. This was The President, he had to have at least twenty boring meetings scheduled.

"To be honest with you, O'Neill, I am. A distraction from my negotiations with Iraq and Pakistan and being able to hide from the UN hippies running around itching to get a piece of me would be welcomed at the moment." Jack shrugged, sounded plausible to him. "This way, I have a work-related reason and not many people can know if it wasn't serious, with the classified nature of the program."

No wonder he was the president. "So you are going to just drop everything for a few hours to have a chat with me?" he questioned. "...Sir."

"Why not? You're a very important man."

"Yeah... but you're _The Man._ Sir. I'm sure there are a lot of other things that are more important than--"

"A lot of other, boring things, yes. They can wait for two or so hours. When can you be down? Tomorrow? I can send a plane for you."

This was too easy. "Are you sure, sir?"

"I'm positive. And getting a little frustrated at all of the second-guessing of my decision, frankly."

That was enough to straighten Jack out, the last person he wanted to be frustrated was the president. Especially with what he was going to ask him. "Uh, yes sir. I can be there tomorrow morning. Colonel Carter will be with me as well, sir."

No way in hell he would ask for the frat regs to be suspended otherwise.

"That's fine, O'Neill. I'll send a plane tonight and have my secretary fax you any information that you may need. I expect to see you and Colonel Carter bright and early in the morning, General. I have a press conference at noon that I _can't _get out of."

"Yes, sir." Jack barked in his military trained way. "And, thank you, sir."

"I wouldn't say that so soon, O'Neill. I haven't said yes yet."

Before Jack could reply, the phone clicked and a dial tone was all he could hear. Well... that was certainly _odd_. But, a lot better than he had expected, to say the least. He glanced around his office with a sigh, pushing back his chair and getting up from his desk. He had to find Sam.

**XXXX**

The first place that he looked was her lab on level 21. True, she used the one on sub-level 19 more frequently than the one on 21, and he knew this, but he also knew that whenever she wanted to get away level 21 was the first place she headed. She had gone there after Daniel's funeral when he ascended and after Janet's as well. It was like her sanctuary.

Not surprisingly, he found her there, staring off into space looking very deep in thought. He cleared his throat and stepped further into the room, reaching behind him to knock slightly on the wall, seeing as the door was made of metal. She glanced up at him, surprised, then smiled faintly. "Hello, sir." she greeted, standing up. "Is there something that you need?"

"Sit down," he ordered, though there was no tone of superiority in his voice and it was more of a request than an actual order. "We've got to talk."

The look on her face plainly said that she did _not_ like that statement and if he didn't rephrase it soon he could forget about her sitting down, insubordination or no. Crossing her arms over her chest she waited for him to fix whatever it was she didn't like.

"I talked to the president."

Oh, that said everything. "And?" she questioned, still standing.

"It's not bad, Sam, really. You can sit down." She gave him an incredulous look, but did sit down as he had asked. "Ok," he continued, taking a seat as well. "He's agreed to an impromptu meeting, although he doesn't know what it is about. All he knows for certain is that it's nothing too serious, but he was willing to see us anyway. They're sending a plane down tonight so we can leave first thing in the morning, due to his busy schedule. I'm not sure when, but sometime later I'll have all the information on when we leave and when we're coming back."

"Really?" she questioned, "so soon?"

"Yeah... that's what I thought."

"Are you sure he doesn't think it's serious, sir?" Sam wanted to know, as she shifted in her seat and brought her legs up into the chair, hugging them with her arms. "That could be why he was willing to get us down there so quickly."

"Nope," he replied, shaking his head. "I made sure that he knew it wasn't anything life-threatening."

"Hmm," she shrugged her shoulders. "I guess I should get started on my work then, sir. If I'm not going to be here tomorrow."

He nodded, "Alright, Carter. Scurry off and do... whatever it is that you do."

She nodded and took off out the door, sighing in relief, and feeling as if a weight was starting to be slowly lifted from her shoulders.

**XXXX**

It wasn't until after 1600 hours when Walter brought him the fax, which contained the information he needed on where to be and what time to arrive when he left in the morning for DC. He was a bit surprised when he saw that the plane would be leaving at 0500 the next morning, but then he had to figure in the time change, and in the end, they would be arriving around 7, eastern standard time.

He had left his office a few minutes after that, headed for level 19, where he was sure she would be. She had, of course, stated that she was going to get some work finished, and 19 had nearly all of the equipment she needed to do whatever her scientific heart desired.

Much like earlier that day, he hadn't been surprised when he walked into the room to find her leaning over her desk, tinkering with some sort of battery. She didn't look up when he entered, but he could tell she had noticed him doing so. Her posture had changed, straightened, slightly, and she had begun to put the finishing touches on whatever it was in front of her.

"You don't have to stop on account of me," he assured her, stepping into the office. "I'm only here to tell you to be at Peterson AFB at 5 in the morning and pack something warm and dry, because it's supposed to rain."

"Great," she mumbled, doing something which caused the doohickey to spark. She jumped slightly, obviously not expecting the reaction, but continued on with what she was doing. "I'm almost finished with this anyway, sir. What time is it?"

"Almost 1700," he informed her. "Why?"

"I haven't eaten since this morning, I was wondering if you'd like to get something to eat," she informed him, connecting a wire from one end of the object to the other, whereupon the thing starting to glow. She sat back, triumphant, and smiled at her victory. "There, see? I'm finished."

"What is it?"

She gave him an incredulous look, "Do you really want to know?"

He made a face, "Uh... how about in lamen's terms?"

"A battery."

"Just a battery?"

"A very complicated battery which would take a lot of big words and terminology to describe, sir."

"I see... a battery it is."

Sam grinned and took off the gloves she was wearing, running her hands through her short hair with a sigh. "Well... how about dinner then?"

"It sounds great," he replied, then motioned towards the door, "after you."

She looked at him for a second, trying to figure out if he was just being a gentlemen or if he wanted to watch her backside as she walked down the hallway. Deciding that either choice wasn't particularly horrible she smiled slightly and headed out of her office, unplugging the battery before she left. The last thing they needed was her office to go up in flames because she was in a rush to get the last blue jell-o.

They headed to the commissary in silence, rode the elevator down to level 22 in silence, and things continued as such. Only after they had gotten their food did either one of them talk, and the one who did speak first was Sam. "So... five o'clock?"

"Yup."

"There goes that good night's sleep I had planned on," she sighed. "I almost fell asleep in my office this morning."

Jack grinned, "I actually did."

A smile tugged at the corners of her lips and she shook her head with silent laughter, "You're impossible, sir."

"Well," he said with a shrug, "I try."

"What if he says no?" she questioned, suddenly shifting the conversation from innocent flirting and teasing banter to a serious discussion full of consequences and broken rules. "What happens then?"

"We'll figure something out," he promised, trying not to look as if he and his 2IC were deciding what to do if the president told them they couldn't be together, or, at least as if it wasn't against the rules. "I'm not waiting anymore. I can't."

Sam sighed and fought the urge to reach her hand out over the table to take his, "Neither can I."

**XXXX**

It was early, very early, and the light from her living room window was the only one burning onto the quite neighborhood sidewalk. Before either had left from work the night before they had decided that taking one car would be simpler, so he had volunteered to drive his truck. The base wasn't too far away, but it still took a good twenty minutes to get there, so he had left his house at ten after four, arriving at hers fifteen minutes later.

He didn't bother knocking, figuring the noise might wake up her next-door-neighbors, and instead used the spare key that he, Cassie, Daniel, and Teal'c all owned. She was standing in the middle of the hallway, wearing a pair of blue jeans and a plain white t-shirt, but even that showed off more of her curves than the frumpy fatigues at work did. He, himself, wore something relatively similar. Jeans and a plain black shirt, his faded bomber jacket sitting on his seat in his truck.

"I figured I'd wear something comfortable until we got there," she explained, although from the way he was dressed she figured he had as well. "I've got my BDU's in my room."

"Go get them then," he said, "we'll stop somewhere for breakfast along the way."

She nodded and headed back down her hallway and into her bedroom, emerging a moment later with a dress bag and pair of high-healed shoes in her hands. Together they left the house, pausing slightly so she could lock the door behind her, and then he opened the door to the truck for her, waiting for her to climb inside. Again, she wasn't sure if he was trying to prove that chivalry wasn't dead or check out her behind, and again neither choice was a bad thing.

He shut the door behind her when she was safe in her seat and walked around to the other side of the truck, getting in with a sigh and a wince at the stiffness of his knees in the early morning chill. Sam acted as if she hadn't seen it, knowing he was partially ashamed of his minor flaws in stamina due to his aging body. To her it didn't matter, to her he was perfect. As he started the truck he looked over at her with a smile, "Are you ready?"

Sam shook her head, suddenly feeling like a small child about to ride a bike for the first time without training wheels, "Oh God no..." she confessed, her eyes wide with nervousness. "I'm scared out of my mind."

Since there was no one around to witness any fraternization he leaned over the seat and brushed his lips against hers for the briefest of moments, "So am I."

Doing her best to catch her breath, she stared into his chocolate brown eyes, which were dark with emotions, emotions for _her_. Never in her life would she have imagined to be on the receiving end of _those _eyes. Her heart fluttered in her chest and she could feel her pulse racing as she smiled tightly, wondering how he couldn't hear the intense beating of her heart. "We're gonna be ok, right?"

Jack nodded, reaching out and cupping the side of her face with his hand, "We're going to be great, Sam."

Bringing her hand up to cover his, her blue eyes shined with her worry, "How can you be so sure?"

A small smile came to his lips and Sam suddenly wished that he would get the impulse to kiss her once again, even if it was just as short as the first had been. "Do you trust me?" he questioned, and she was immediately brought back to the planet where everything that had gone on in the past few days had begun. She had trusted him then. She trusted him now.

With a nod she replied, "With my life."

Then, as if he had heard her earlier thoughts, he leaned forward once more and caught her lips with his, holding on tighter and longer than before. When he broke away the same smile was back on his face, "_That's_ how I know," he told her. "I _love_ you, Samantha," he said, causing her to shiver at both the confession and the use of her first name. "And now that I've finally got you, I'll never let go."

"You'd better not," she whispered, her throat dry with the fear and the excitement and uncertainty that was rising in her stomach, "because I love you, too."

"See?" he asked, running a hand through her short hair, causing her to shiver once more. "We're going to be just fine."

Sam smiled, feeling for the first time like that was the truth and she would finally be happy. Like all the others that had come before him were simply detours on the road that led her to exactly where she was supposed to be, with him. She knew it wasn't going to be easy, there would be bumps in the road, now that she was finally traveling it; but she trusted him with her heart and knew that they would be able to get through any twist and bend along the way.

They were going to be just fine; and for once, _fine_ didn't sound like such a bad thing.

**XXXX**

**A/N: Now, that could possibly be the end, but I didn't put anything up there because I'm waiting to see you guys' reaction to it. If you want a few more chapters, then let me know, but if you think that this ending is good enough, then let me know, as well. I'm looking forward to your comments. And I got to be honset with you, I have a really good idea for the next chapter... so I'm hoping that you want more. And I might just write more anyway...  
**


	9. Chapter Nine

**Trust**

**Chapter Nine**

**Disclaimer: Nope... still not mine.**

**Authors Note: Alright... since you guys wanted more, here it is. I'm not sure how many more chapters there will be, right now I'm only planning on going to 10, but if any of you have read my other SG-1 stories, you know that I am NEVER right when it comes to guessing the ends to my stories. My muse has a warped sense of humor, I guess. Anyway... on with the story then.**

**  
XXXX**

For the rest of the ride to Peterson, silence took over. He held her hand in his for almost the entire time, taking his away only when he needed to turn a particularly sharp corner, or at the very end of their trip, when he had to park. It was still dark when they climbed out of the truck, grabbing the bags which contained their uniforms, and walking wordlessly towards the only plane on the runway at that early hour. When they reached their destination, the pilot opened the door for them, and Jack allowed Sam to go in first. As soon as they were situated in their seats and the pilot had gone back to the cockpit, Sam looked over at him and grinned, "Ok... I'm going to ask a stupid question."

"That's not possible," he told her, returning the smile.

"Seriously, though," she said, ignoring the lock of mock-shock on his face. "Why do you always let me go first? Is it because I'm the female and you're trying to do the "gentlemen" like thing, or because it gives you the perfect opportunity to check out by backside without me knowing it."

"I check out your backside without you knowing it all the time, Carter," he told her nonchalant. "Especially when I was still a part of SG-1."

Her jaw dropped slightly, a bit surprised at his truthfulness and the fact that she had never caught on to his reasoning for always letting her walk ahead before. "So... you're just being a gentlemen, then?"

"I didn't say that," he told her. "I _am_ checking out your butt..." he shrugged. "Would it be a bad thing if I was also doing it to be a gentlemen?" There was no telling with women these days anyway-- he was almost certain that she would be less angry with him for simply checking her out, rather than giving her special privileges because she was a women. Samantha Carter was a force to be reckoned with, and given their current situation and where they were headed and why, he didn't want to make her upset.

"Not necessarily," she informed him. "So... how long have you been checking out my backside?"

"How long have I known you?"

"Are you serious?" Sam asked, her right eyebrow cocking slightly. "That long?"

"Well... you are hot, Sam."

"Really?"

Jack chuckled slightly, "You act as if you haven't known this for your entire life. I know you have. Everywhere you go in the SGC, Science Geeks and Military Jocks follow you around like lost puppies. You've got more admirers than Danny boy does, and that's a lot of nurses and alien women to compete with."

She rolled her eyes and slid her palm against his, intertwining her fingers with his, "Maybe so... but only one of them counts."

"McKay?" he guessed. "No... wait, he's halfway across the universe. Felger? Eh... no." He paused for a moment, obviously in thought, "He's dead... so is he... he's ascended... he's dead... robot..." he looked up at her and shrugged, "I give up."

"You ever heard the cliché, 'Don't bite the hand that feeds you?'" she questioned, almost certain of what his answer would be. She knew how he was with cliché's, anyway. He acted as if he detested them, but they were a regular part of his everyday conversation.

"...Yeah..."

"You're biting."

He raised his eyebrows in a suggestive manner, "Not really... but I could, if you'd like me to."

With her free hand she swatted at him playfully, about to reply. Before she could get a word out the co-pilot came out of the cockpit and informed them that they were taking off. Sam looked around the small, private plane and wondered if it belonged to the president or one of the many politicians who worked for him. It was luxurious, either way. The co-pilot retreated where he came from and Sam turned to Jack once more, "How on earth are we going to do this?"

"I have no idea," he confessed, leaning over the armrest and kissing her chastely on the forehead. "But whatever it is, we do it together."

**XXXX**

It was 45 after 0600 when they arrived in DC, landing on a private airstrip at Dulles International. Sam could feel her stomach turning flips and her pulse quicken as it touched down, squealing fiercely. Jack, who still had hold of her hand, gave her a reassuring squeeze and smile, before bringing her hand to his mouth and kissing it briefly. "Don't worry," he told her. "It's going to be fine."

"Maybe..." she speculated. "It might."

"No," he replied. "It will be. Trust me."

Damn, did he always have to use that phrase? How could she doubt when he asked her that? She would trust him always, no matter what. "Of course... it will be fine." If only she believed the words coming out of her own mouth. "Is Davis going to meet us?"

"I believe so," Jack told her, letting go of her hand so he could unbuckle his seat-belt (having received permission from the Captain). When the plane came to a complete stop he stood up from his seat, extending his hand to help her up as well. She glared at him, only half-serious, and got up on her own.

"Don't press your luck, bud." she warned, before running the tip of her pointer finger along his jaw line. "I can help myself up, thank you very much."

"At least you knew I wasn't just doing it to check out your backside," he informed her with a grin. The co-pilot ventured from the cockpit once more to help them off of the plane, and Sam ignored the smirk on Jack's face when he offered for her to go first. She did, however, but when they were safe on the ground she slowed her pace, allowing him to walk ahead of her. Two could play such a game, as it were.

If he had caught on to her little turn of events, he didn't let her know it, and he simply walked on in front of her, whistling a nameless tune as he went. After awhile, he stopped, turned around, and looked at her with mock-frustration, "Are you coming?" he questioned, even though she was only a few steps behind him.

She nodded, "Just enjoying the view."

He grinned and waited for her to catch up with him, resisting the urge to take her hand in his. They were most likely meeting one Major Paul Davis shortly, and the last thing they needed was somebody who knew them and their history to see them in such a situation, and assume the correct things, but to a higher extent. Jack and Sam hadn't done much to break the fraternization regulations, besides the few kisses they had shared in his truck. Really, was holding hands considered fraternization? If so, he had broken that one a long time ago, on many different missions where their lives were in danger. One in particular that they remembered, when they had been captured by Hathor, and were looking for Daniel and Teal'c.

Oh yeah. That had been a good mission. Firstly, she had been practically naked when he found her, although she had a covering over her body. Then, she had been clothed in white, and even though the outfit was too big for her, she had still looked amazingly hot. Moreover, she had thought of him with the Tok'ra memory recall device, and then when they had been hiding from the Jaffa, she had been pressed up against him, very closely. And after he had been saved from life with Goa'uld, they had clung to each other, also very closely. Oh yeah. Good mission. Even with the symbiote in the neck thing. They had broken all kinds of fraternizations regulations that day, without even knowing it... Heck, all of that was in the mission reports. To some extent, at least.

Brining himself out of his memories, they walked into the airport and almost immediately came into contact with Davis, who was holding two cups of what Jack only prayed was coffee. Once they got closer, his prayers were answered, and he took the substance greedily.

"So, am I allowed to ask what's important enough for you two to come all the way out to DC to talk to the president about?"

"You could," Jack told him. "But that doesn't mean you'd get an answer."

"Classified?" he questioned.

Jack nodded, "Yup. Very much so."

Davis seemed to take that in stride, nodding and not questioning the General. "He wanted to hide from the UN representatives, didn't he?"

"That," Jack said, taking a long sip of his coffee, "is also very classified."

**XXXX**

It didn't take very long for them to get to the White House, it still being early morning, there wasn't so much traffic to deal with. Still, there had been some, and Sam and Jack had shared a very uncomfortable silence with Major Paul Davis, who seemed to smile at the two of them every single time he caught their eyes. Sam was beginning to get curious, but Jack just found it annoying, and did his best to not look at the man during the entire trip to Pennsylvania Ave.

Upon arrival, the two were sent to a waiting room of sorts, and stayed there for the lighter part of half an hour. The worst part about it, was that they were in a government building, and therefore couldn't steal a few seconds of clasped hands, or any sort of un-allowed touches. They simply sat in their separate chairs, which were set nearly six inches apart, and waited. And waited.

It was almost 0800 when they were finally called into the president's office, the Oval Office, as it were. The man was sitting behind a huge, cherry desk, and smiled at them as they came. "General O'Neill," he greeted, "Colonel Carter." He stood, to shake their hands, and gestured at the two chairs positioned in front of his desk, inviting them to have a seat. These were much closer than the lobby ones had been, and the two found it hard to not bump elbows every now and then as they talked.

"So, how is everything at the SGC doing?" he questioned, retaking his seat, as he smoothed out his suit jacket. "Well, I hope."

"Everything is running smoothly, Mr. President, sir," Sam told him, feeling overwhelmingly nervous. This was _the President of the United States _she was talking to, anyway. If that didn't put a weight on your shoulders, who knew what would? "That's actually not why we came."

"Oh?" the president questioned, shifting his gaze between Jack and Sam. "I got the feeling that was the case when General O'Neill phoned me yesterday. I usually don't hear from him unless the world is about to blow up or be over run by aliens."

Jack smiled slightly, "Yes sir, Mr. President."

"Well then," Henry Hayes said with a sigh, leaning back in his chair, causing Sam and Jack to steal a glance at his unique behavior. "Let's hear it."

O'Neill coughed slightly, "Well... uh, sir, the thing is..." He winced slightly, cursing himself for not having thought of what to say beforehand. He was so stupid at times. "Colonel Carter and I have an extremely selfish and extremely huge favor to ask of you."

Hayes tilted his head slightly, in a way that almost reminded Sam of Teal'c, and she held her breath. They couldn't really being doing this... right at that moment. There was no way they were about to ask the President to show favoritism on them and allow them to break the rules. It wasn't possible. Nope. She was probably in a nightmare or something. Maybe off-world trapped in some sort of alien false reality. It could happen, anyway. It had before. A few times, actually. Yeah. She was probably hooked up to thousands of wires at the moment, which were feeding all of this into her brain.

But yet, he was there, and she was there, and the president was there, and it all _felt_ real. It had to be happening. There was no way she would dream this up and well, no alien race would even consider this as a tactic for anything except to make her extremely uncomfortable. Sam shifted nervously in her seat, folding her hands over her lap.

"I see," the president replied. "What is this request then?"

General O'Neill took a deep breath; either he was about to do the most incredibly stupid thing in his entire life, and get fired and dishonorably discharged from the Air Force, not to mention brought up on court marshal charges, for breaking the frat regs... or, he was taking a huge leap of faith, placing his future into the hands of the president and praying that the man respected and liked him enough to take him seriously and grant his request. "Well, Mr. President, sir... We ask that the fraternization regulations for the SGC be suspended. For ever."

At the same time, Jack and Sam held their breath, looking at the president in anticipation of a blow up and imagining their careers washing down the proverbial drain. On a whim, Sam shot her hand out to the side, at the same time he did, and they locked hands, squeezing tightly, intertwining their fingers together. Was there something in the books that specifically said, no hand holding allowed between CO and 2IC? It didn't matter. Neither cared at that point, and they needed the comfort of the touch of the others skin.

Henry Hayes watched all that was going on in front of him, his eyes not showing sings of emotions either way. For all they knew, he was cursing in his head or he was biting back a smile. He showed no indication towards either. Which just made things on them ten times worse, because not only would they be forced to wait for his reply, but they had no clue as to what it would be. The president's right eyebrow cocked, as he leaned forward in his chair, and opened his mouth to reply.

"..."

**XXXX**

**A/N: Okay, there it is. To see what he says, you'll have to wait for the next chapter. :)**

**Cliffhangers are so awesome, eh?**


	10. Chapter Ten

**Trust**

**Chapter Ten**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, the show is not mine and neither are the characters. Sigh...**

**Tiny spoilers for Chain Reaction.**

**XXXX**

"Louis," the president said, leaning forward and pressing the button that connected him to his secretary, via speaker phone.

"Yes Mr. President," the woman's plainly New England accent flooded the room, causing Jack and Sam to look over at each other with curiosity, and squeeze each others hands encouragingly. For all thew knew, he wanted Louis to get the military police in his office so they could be arrested for fraternizing. It seemed unlikely, but it was still possible.

"Please tell my visitor to come in," he replied, glancing up at the two Air Force officers sitting in front of him.

"Yes Mr. President," she repeated, and Jack wondered briefly if her vocabulary contained any other words. Of course, she had spoken to him and Sam before they entered, so he already knew the answer to that question. She had seemed a bit stuffy to him, at the time.

His thoughts on the president's secretary had taken over his mind and Jack had completely ignored the fact that the man wasn't yelling at them or threatening to court marshal them, let alone the fact that he was brining somebody else into the room. Sam, however, was scared out of her mind and more nervous than she had ever been in her life, and her eyes were wide and panicked and directed towards the door. Her nearly spotless record flashed across her mind for the shortest of moments before she pushed it away, telling herself that if it meant she could be with Jack a black mark didn't matter at all. Lying to herself, as it were, but it got the job done and she waited for the door to open.

What, or rather, who came through the frame ended up giving both Jack and Sam the biggest shocks of their lives, and both took a moment to stare at each other, before turning back to the visitor, mouths agape. The man standing before them grinned slyly at the astounded looks on their faces, before entering the room and pulling up an unoccupied chair. He then looked towards the president and his grin broadened, "It's nice to see you again, Henry. How are the children?"

"They're just fine, thank you for asking. And your daughter?"

"Still adjusting, but she's doing great. I'll let her know you were thinking of her," he informed the man, causing Jack and Sam to fidget nervously in their seats. What in the world was _he_ doing here? In the president's office... while they were asking for special privileges?

"Likewise," Hayes replied with a friendly smile.

The visitor turned his attention back towards them, "Colonel Carter," he greeted, "General O'Neill."

Sam was at a loss for words. She tried over and over in her mind to come up with an appropriate sentence to reply to the man's greeting, but found all of her verbal skills fleeting, and she cursed herself for having such a panicky reaction. "S... S... Sir," she finally managed to choke out, covering her chest with her free hand and coughing slightly, trying to hide the fact that she had been stuttering. She blushed lightly and excused herself for the cough.

"Sir," Jack echoed, smiling warily. "Not to be insubordinate in any way; but... why are you here?"

Lieutenant General George Hammond chuckled softly to himself, giving Jack an amused grin, and replied. "What do you think, son?" he questioned. "I'm buying back your soul."

**XXXX**

Jack sat in silent shock for a few seconds, before shaking his head to clear his mind, and snapping back into reality. "You're _what_?" he inquired, "...sir?"

Another bubble of laughter from the man told Jack that he shouldn't be so paranoid, all was going to be well, soon enough. "Buying back your soul. I recall a few years back you requesting that of me, correct?"

Of course it was correct. Jack didn't even have to think back to remember the incident. Hammond had been threatened by The NID and Jack had come to his rescue, with the help of Maybourne, no less. When questioning Jack on what he owed the man, after things had returned to their norm, O'Neill had replied that one day, his soul might need to be bought back.

And Hammond was fairly sure that today was indeed_ that _day.

"Uh..." a curious voice called from Hammond's right, where Colonel Carter was currently seated, all three men looked at her and she blushed slightly. "Sirs... if I may," she shied back in her chair, taking a deep breath, "I'm a bit confused as to what exactly is going on at the moment... Could somebody please explain?"

Since Jack himself was a little confused, he left it to the other two men in the room to do the explaining, and sat back in his chair, still a bit worried about the end results of all of this. Hammond once again took over, looking at Sam with affection, recalling the day when he met the now woman, when she was 8 years old and fussing about not being able to play soccer with her brother and his friends. To him, it was almost strange to see her so grown up and, as he had known for many years prior, in love. "You know," he explained, still smiling, "I have been waiting for this day for nearly a year?"

He was greeted with looks of puzzlement and continued on further, "Contrary to the belief of many, I am neither old nor blind, and I still remember the way two people in love behave. Now, having said this, I noticed many years ago that the relationship between the two of you was more than just CO and 2IC. True as it is, I know that neither of you would ever cross over the boundaries set before you, so I, ashamed as it makes me, ignored it. When I was promoted and moved to D.C. I decided that I wouldn't procrastinate any longer and the president and I had a long talk, in which the two of you were discussed immensely.

"Months ago, I requested that the president retract the fraternization regulations put forth for the SGC, not only for the benefit of the two of you, but for all of those who work there. I, myself, am aware of how difficult it is to be in a relationship built on a lie, and would not wish it on any of the men and women who had once served under my command. I had one stipulation; the fraternization regulations would not be changed unless somebody from the SGC asked that it be done. As involved in the manner as I am, I would not allow the president to give those working at Stargate Command special privileges simply because I asked him to." Hammond glanced at Hayes, and the man smiled slightly. "He agreed, after hours of convincing on my part, to the request and my terms. Since then, both of us have been waiting for one person, or more than that, as it were, to come forward and ask that he do what he has already promised he would."

"In many ways," Hayes added, speaking for the first time since his greeting to the General, "I had hoped it would be the two of you that came with the requisition. I have a great deal of admiration for both of you and when George told me of the situation I was ready to suspend the regulations straight away."

Sam looked between the POTUS and the man who was liken to her uncle, stunned and once again at a loss for words. In her mind, a million different 'thank you's coursed, and many of them would have been overly appropriate, but she just couldn't find the words or ability to express them. Jack, too, sat in a similar predicament, but, he, himself, already being a man of few words, wasn't as bothered by it.

"I don't know what to say," Sam finally admitted, her cheeks flushing slightly at her embarrassment.

"I do," Jack added with a grin, "we shoulda come sooner."

**XXXX**

"So, what do we do now?" Sam questioned, after learning that she could finally be with the man she loved, and that she could have long ago. "Isn't there a bunch of paperwork that has to be filed? All kinds of systems that said paperwork has to go through... months of waiting?"

"It's already been done," the president informed her. "All that has to be taken care of now, is my signature on the dotted line."

"Really?" Jack asked, now past the point of being shocked or stunned, and eagerness taking over. "That's it?"

"Like I said, Jack," Hammond replied, "we've been waiting almost a year."

"Right," he replied with a sigh. "A year..."

"Don't feel bad about it, son." Hammond told him. "Don't think of it as time lost. That year got you to where you are today."

"You're a very insightful old geezer, you know?" Jack inquired, smiling at the man.

Hammond only smiled back. "I can't stay any longer, I have a meeting that I need to attend. But," he looked at Sam and grinned, "I have an hour free around lunch time... how about we meet up somewhere and catch up?"

"I'd love that, sir," she replied. "I know the perfect place. There's a café in my old neighborhood that I would like to visit. Adeline's on the corner of 23rd and Main."

"That sounds wonderful, I'll be there at 1300." he excused himself from the room, said goodbye to the president, and hurried out the door, headed towards his car, which would take him to the pentagon.

When he had gone, Sam and Jack turned their attention towards the president. "I don't know what I can say that can express my gratitude, sir," Sam admitted to him.

"Don't mention it, Colonel." Hayes replied, nodding slightly towards Sam. "I was more than happy to do so."

"Thank you, sir," Jack said. "This means a great deal to the both of us."

"I'm sure it does," the man smiled. "Now, let me get that paperwork and sign it so you two can get on with your visit."

"Yes, sir," Sam and Jack said in unison.

He, too, got up from his chair and left the room, returning moments later carrying a file. Setting it down on his desk, he pulled a pen from his pocket and pulled out the papers contained in the folder. He signed the first page, flipped through a few more pages, then signed again. "There," he said with a sigh, setting the pen down and looking over at the two, "it's done."

Sam was about to thank him once more before Jack stood, asked the president to excuse him, but he had something that needed to be done, as he pulled her up from her chair and into his embrace, catching her by surprise and pressing his lips firmly against hers. After a few seconds, Sam pulled back, remembering where she was and suddenly feeling her cheeks flush.

"Jack," she hissed, looking anywhere but at the president, who she could clearly hear chuckling.

All O'Neill did was smile at her, his brown eyes dancing with laughter. "Come on, Carter, let's get out of here."

**XXXX**

Hours later, after the lunch with Hammond, shopping in the city, walking around her favorite DC park hand-in-hand, an intimate dinner at a classy restaurant, and a late-night stroll through the same DC park, the two found themselves exhausted and retreated to their hotel, intending on catching a few hours of sleep before waking up early to make their plane the next morning.

Their hotel room had two, full-sized beds, on Sam's request. She wanted to take things slow, make up for all the lost time, and just enjoy the way it felt to be in a new relationships, not worrying about all the complex issues that came along with dating. That would come, with time, but for then, she just wanted to be in the beginning stages of dating. Hand-holding, stolen kisses, long glances, separate beds. Jack went along with her decision, although he wouldn't have minded rushing through the first few 'stages' of dating and skipping to the fun stuff. He loved her though, and was willing to wait. She was worth it.

She had taken a long shower, emerging from the hotel bathroom at nearly half after 2300. He would take his early the next morning, while she got ready, so as to save time. Her hair was damp and clung to her face, and her oversized Air Force Academy tee shirt was covering her short sleep shorts, giving the illusion that she wasn't even wearing them. Jack bit back the thoughts running through his mind and smiled sweetly at her, forcing himself to resist the urge to pull her into his arms and tell her to forget taking things slow, they had waited long enough.

To his surprise, she climbed onto the bed he was laying down in, although, she didn't get under the covers as he was. She slid closer to him, laid down, her face inches from his, and gave him a radiant, but nervous, smile. "What happens next?" she inquired, her blue eyes wide with unasked questions. Where would they go from there? How would their relationship change, now that they were, and could be, more than friends? Would these feelings; the butterflies in her stomach, the permanent lump in her throat, the rush of adrenaline flowing through her veins, and the intense beating of her heart, last?

"I don't know," he admitted, kissing her softly, as he pulled her into his arms and gave her a comforting squeeze. "But that is the beauty of it all. _We_ get to decide."

_**The End**_

**XXXX**

**Authors Note: That is all folks! I would like to take this time to thank everybody who has reviewed as of yet, you guys rock! I hope that you enjoyed my story and will continue to read my other fics, and review to them! Please, let me know what you thought of this one. I live for feedback.  
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